FORT SMITH, Ark. — On July 18, the former Sebastian County election coordinator resigned from her post after serving for the last nine years.
Her resignation came after the quorum court voted not to increase the pay of the part-time position from $7,800 a year.
"Quite honestly, the court felt like she was paid adequately for her position. So it came down to that, and she felt like it was best for her to move on," says Sebastian County Judge Steve Hotz.
Now, nearly a month later, the Election Commission appointed a new coordinator on Monday, Amanda Cravey, just 85 days before the November general election.
Hotz explains, "She's our grants and FOIA administrator. She's expressed an interest in this in the past and we did a little thinking and realized we could probably take some duties off of her current job, and add this to it. And she's on board."
Cravey says she's prepared for the challenges ahead. "If you don't have coordination behind it, then you're not meeting your deadlines properly, and you're not ensuring the integrity of the vote, and I think that's essential. Especially in a time like this."
Cravey's duties will include making sure the county has poll workers and poll sites, election machines are programmed properly, ballots are written correctly, and all other duties to ensure an election runs smoothly. But, not without assistance from her team or the county.
"We're going to make sure she has all the help she needs to move forward and support her through this big election right out of the box for her," says Hotz. "The Secretary of State's office said they will provide anything we need, boots on the ground if needed. The County Clerk's Office is also supporting us."
When the election season is over, she'll return back to her original duties. Cravey is set to begin training this week and says her first deadline is Aug. 26 for the Sebastian County ballot draw.
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