Two Arkansas counties consider jail sales tax proposals in Tuesday's special elections
Washington County voters wait in line to cast their ballot shortly after a Springdale Civic Center polling site opened on Election Day, Nov. 5, 2024. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)
The focus on funding facilities for Arkansas prisoners shifts from the state to the counties this week as voters in Madison and Pope counties consider sales tax and bond proposals in special elections Tuesday.
Madison County voters are considering adopting a 1% sales tax for operation and maintenance of a new county jail that's scheduled to be complete in June. Meanwhile, Pope County voters are being asked to approve an $89.9 million bond issue to build a new county jail and 911 call center, and a 0.75% sales tax to pay off the bond debt.
During the 2025 legislative session that adjourned last week, lawmakers rejected a $750 million appropriation bill to fund construction of a 3,000-bed prison in Franklin County that supporters, including the governor, have said is needed to alleviate crowding in county jails, several of which are holding state inmates due to a lack of prison space.
Arkansas lawmakers consider other funding methods as they abandon sixth prison appropriation vote
Because Madison County only has a 24-hour holding facility, County Judge Larry Garrett said they ship prisoners to other counties, some as far away as Lafayette County in southeast Arkansas.
'We're hauling prisoners outside the county to be housed in other county jails and that has become very difficult,' he said. 'Every jail is overcrowded and nowhere to go with them.'
Garrett estimated 50-60 Madison County prisoners are housed around the state, which costs the county $45-$70 a day per person. The lack of a jail is also costing Madison County manpower, especially on long hauls to Lafayette County, which Garrett said takes two deputies off the street for 12 hours.
An effort to build a jail has been ongoing for years, according to The Madison County Record. Ballot measures to support construction of a county jail failed in 2008, 2013 and 2014. In 2022, a construction tax passed, but a 1.25% maintenance and operation tax failed by about 200 votes. A 1% maintenance tax failed by 40 votes last November.
Because he knew they 'can only do it once,' Garrett said they tried to build for the future and used $16 million to construct a 148-bed jail, though he doesn't expect the facility to open at full capacity immediately. Garrett estimated it would cost $1.9 million to return prisoners currently housed around the state to Madison County, which he said they can't afford right now.
If voters approve the maintenance and operation tax Tuesday, Garrett said it will help run the new jail, which he estimated will cost around $2.5 million to operate annually. That would include the cost of food and medical services and the salaries of employees, which Garrett said would be around 15 people at full staff.
Local officials have hosted town halls and tours of the new jail, the latter of which Garrett said was 'very positive,' though he said he's not sure how that will translate at the ballot box.
'I think everybody wants a jail because we don't have one and they know that the criminals are getting turned loose,' he said. 'They want a jail, they just don't want to have to pay to run it.'
Garrett said he understands the aversion to more taxes, but noted that everyone who purchases something in the county like gas or fast food will pay the sales tax, not just local residents. Additionally, he said the City of Huntsville sunset a 1-cent sales tax last year, so the jail's maintenance and operation tax would basically take the place of that.
In Pope County, officials have also hosted town halls to inform local voters about the proposed three-quarter-cent sales tax to construct, operate and maintain a new jail and 911 call center. New facilities are needed because the county's population has doubled since construction of the current jail in 1981, Pope County Judge Ben Cross said.
County officials started the year with 11,000 active misdemeanor warrants, but because of overcrowding, the current 172-bed jail is only being used to hold felons and people who've committed violent misdemeanors like domestic violence, Cross said.
If officials receive approval from voters Tuesday, Cross said the county owns 26 acres north of Exit 83 along I-40 where the new facility can be built. Because 'you get more bang for your buck,' officials would construct one building that would house a 400-bed jail and 911 center, as well as the county's sheriff's office and office of emergency management, he said.
The acreage would provide space to expand in the future, and the tax, which wouldn't sunset, would provide a revenue source to continue operating the facility, Cross said.
'You can't put a price on public safety, and that's one reason this is not a sunset tax because you have to have that money for generations to come to operate a facility like this,' he said. 'If you sunsetted it and you built this facility, then you don't have money to maintain and operate it. Somewhere in the future you're kicking that can down the road.'
The special elections in Madison and Pope counties are two of the elections taking place around the state Tuesday. The University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service has a list of elections on its website.
You can also check your voter registration, and find polling locations and sample ballots here.
SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hill
30 minutes ago
- The Hill
Libertarian Party's 2024 VP nominee announces he's joining GOP
Mike ter Maat, who was the Libertarian Party's vice presidential nominee a year ago, announced Tuesday that he has joined the Republican Party in a move that he described as a 'a strategic shift – not a change in ideology.' 'The Republican Party will be the arena for the critical debate of the next political cycle,' ter Maat said in a statement on the switch. 'To strengthen our economy through free markets, unify our nation through the Constitution and protect our future through fiscal conservatism and a common-sense foreign policy, we must engage where it matters most.' Ter Maat was the running mate of Libertarian presidential candidate Chase Oliver. The duo received less than half of a percent of the national vote and came in fifth, securing fewer votes than Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who had withdrawn from the race before Election Day. Ter Matt said he is specifically aligning with the GOP's Republican Liberty Caucus (RLC), which is made up of Republicans who have Libertarian-leaning views. The RLC in the past has backed candidates like former Texas Rep. Ron Paul and current Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie. RLC chair John Dennis credited President Trump, who spoke at the Libertarian Party's convention last year, with bringing more third-party backers into the GOP, even as some of Trump's allies take aim at libertarian-leaning Republicans. 'The Republican Liberty Caucus is the right entry point for liberty Republicans, Libertarians and independents committed to the fight for constitutional governance,' Dennis said in a statement on ter Maat's announcement. 'The RLC is excited to fulfill this important role.'

Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Schoharie County to be honored for voter turnout
The Schoharie County Board of Supervisors has announced that the county ranked first for voter turnout among 33 counties in New York with a population between 10,000 and 100,000 people in the November 2024 election. According to a news release rom the county, Schoharie had a 74% voter turnout rate in the November 2024 election. The 'Rejoice the Vote's' Votingest Award will be formally presented to the Board of Supervisors at its June 20 meeting on the third floor of the Schoharie County Office Building at 284 Main Street in Schoharie. The meeting will begin at 9 a.m. According to the release, the award is given by Rejoice the Vote, a non-profit, non-partisan project in Tompkins County 'whose mission is to honor this history of voting rights in the U.S. and to encourage a culture of voting as a critical right and a reason for joyful celebration.' Assemblyman Chris Tague, state Sen. Peter Oberacker and U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik have been invited to the award ceremony, along with Election Commissioners Ken Schweigard and Clifford Hay, according to the release. Tague. R-Schoharie, said, 'It's an inspiring act of patriotism to see voters in Schoharie County showed up at the polls in November 2024 at such a high rate. One of the greatest civic challenges we face in the 21st century is inspiring voters to make their voices heard and show up on Election Day. A turnout rate of 74% in Schoharie County surpassed the turnout rate nationwide, and I feel so proud to represent a community that remains engaged and active in the voting process.'
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Yahoo
Voting rights, access bills stopped in the Alabama Legislature
Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville (right, at lectern) raises his hand during a debate in the Alabama House of Representatives on March 6, 2025 at the Alabama Statehouse in Montgomery, Alabama. Jackson filed an early voting bill this session, which was not considered by a committee, along with other voting-related bills. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector) A collection of bills aimed to enhance voting access in Alabama were never considered by committees during the 2025 legislative session, but advocates say the fight for enhanced voting rights in Alabama is not over HB 59, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Jackson, D-Thomasville, would have required one early voting precinct in each county for one week before Election Day. According to a study by the Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR), about 70% of the ballots cast nationwide in 2020 were cast before Election Day, and 40% were cast before Election Day in 2016. In 2016, 25% of ballots nationwide were cast through early in-person voting, of the states that offer the option, according to the study. 'Senior citizens really brought it to my attention,' Jackson said in an interview on Monday. 'So I drafted it, and I put it the simplest way that I could do it: a week out before the election, four days prior to the elections, and nobody liked that. Republicans don't like that.' Alabama does not allow early voting and does not have no-excuse absentee voting. Amid the COVID pandemic in 2020, state leaders effectively allowed anyone to cast an absentee ballot, but that was rescinded after the election. The League of Women Voters of Alabama supported the measures. Kim Bailey, president of the league, said in an interview Thursday that the bills would expand access to voting in Alabama, which would increase voter turnout in the state. 'You can make a plan, but if something comes up on voting day, you may not be able to get to the ballot box,' Bailey said. 'Voting as a right and not a privilege. I think that's important that they'd be able to exercise that right.' In 2024, there were 3.7 million people registered to vote in Alabama, according to the Secretary of State's website. But only 2.2 million (59%) people voted in the 2024 Presidential election. That was significantly less than the national voter turnout of 88% in 2024, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, and the lowest percentage of Alabama voters to cast ballots in a presidential election since 1988. The bill was assigned to the House Constitution, Campaigns and Elections Committee, but Rep. Bob Fincher, R-Woodland, chair of the committee, said he did not take HB 59 up in his committee because he is not in favor of early voting due to the cost to the state. 'It costs the state extra money when you vote early,' he said. 'If there's a change in the campaign, you cannot go back and change your vote.' The Legislative Services Agency did not provide a fiscal note for any of the election access related bills. Although a total cost is not available, Bailey said early voting would utilize state employees that are already working and would be held at locations that are already staffed. 'That wouldn't require a lot of infrastructure cost in those kinds of things, so depending on what the legislation that passes the cost could be not really very much,' Bailey said. Jackson said the potential cost to the state for a week of early voting would be much less than the cost to the state for unconstitutional bills and the congressional redistricting trial. In the state's General Fund budget, a $300,000 line item was added for 'reapportionment litigation fees.' 'We don't have an idea of the cost to the state. Look at all these lawsuits, these millions of dollars that are being paid to lawyers for these unconstitutional bills. That's a cost to the state,' Jackson said. 'See, they can come up with any excuse when they don't want something.' Jerome Dees, the Alabama policy director at the Southern Poverty Law Center, said in an interview Thursday that he was not surprised the bills were not considered. He said the state has been regressing in voting access and inclusivity for the last decade. 'This bill is really kind of an effort to try and present a new vision of what democracy can and should be in Alabama, which is kind of the home of the civil rights movement,' Dees said. In fact, Dees said the state's congressional redistricting trial has highlighted the need for more voter protections and access. 'The fact that not a single one of these bills that aimed to expand voter access to create oversight over the redistricting process, whether that's at the municipal level, drawing of city council districts or at the state and federal level,' Dees said. 'According to the federal courts, is obviously a problem, just based on recent rulings. The fact that the Legislature intentionally chose not to touch any of those, I think, is as telling as anything.' In 2021, the Alabama Legislature approved congressional district maps that were later challenged in court and struck down in 2022 by a three-judge panel, which ordered the districts to be redrawn. In 2023, the Legislature redrew the maps, which were again challenged by plaintiffs for not meeting the court's requirement of allowing Black voters to elect a candidate of their choice in a second district. The court struck down the 2023 map passed by the Legislature and appointed a special master to submit three potential remedial maps in time for the 2024 election. The Alabama Attorney General's Office said last month the state may forgo drawing new congressional district maps before 2030 to prevent federal oversight of future redistricting, pausing the redistricting for five years. HB 97, sponsored by Rep. Kenyatté Hassell, D-Montgomery, would have allowed voters to cure their absentee ballot affidavit if they submit them before the election and the absentee election manager finds an error. Currently, the ballots are set aside and not counted if election officials find a defect with the affidavits. Hassell said in an interview on Wednesday that the bill would have given absentee voters a better chance for their ballot to be counted. 'People were making mistakes on their ballots, and even though they didn't know they made mistakes,' he said. 'We might have people who voted on an absentee ballot for the last 20 years, and their vote never counted because they made the same mistake over and over again not knowing they made that mistake.' The bill was assigned to Fincher's committee, but Fincher said he did not take it up because of conversations with Hassell and the Secretary of State Wes Allen. 'I've been very clear, I believe in Election Day, not Election month,' Allen said in a statement Monday. Hassell raised concerns that the executive branch had control over what bills did or did not get taken up in committee. 'When one person in the executive branch has an agenda, that shouldn't dictate if we all feel like this is a good piece of legislation that'll help the citizens,' Hassell said. 'That's why we have a House. That's why we have a Senate.' HB 31, sponsored by Rep. Adline Clarke, D-Mobile, allows people with a disability, or those unable to read or write, to designate someone to assist them with delivering an absentee ballot application or the absentee ballot itself, to the election manager. Messages seeking comment from Clarke were left Wednesday and Monday. Dees and Bailey expect the bills to be filed again for the 2026 Legislative Session. 'We're going to keep filing this year, I'm gonna keep filing until something happens,' Jackson said. 'We just have to keep hitting that rock until they crack. That's why I'm still pushing it, because it's the right thing to do, and the people of the state want it.'