Republican Party of Arkansas facing internal lawsuit

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A lawsuit has been filed stemming from the Republican Party of Arkansas’ decision to hold closed primaries.

At a biennial convention in June, the party voted to close their primaries. This would mean that only registered Republicans could vote in primary elections. Hypothetically, having closed primaries could make winning candidates more conservative, as they would be chosen by a voter pool of people only within their own party.

The suit is being brought by state Republican Convention Chair Jennifer Lancaster. The lawsuit says the Arkansas GOP’s internal rules give them the power to make this change. Weeks after the vote, party chairman Joseph Wood nullified the decision claiming the party violated their own rules in making the decision. The disagreement represents a current disagreement in the party over ideology and rule implementation.

State law seems to allow parties to make primary decisions. Arkansas Code Title 7 regarding elections says “organized political parties shall: prescribe the qualifications for voting in their party primaries."

Last year, Republican state Sen. Kim Hammer wrote a letter to Attorney General Tim Griffin asking him to clarify if, under the law, parties need to pass laws to change their primaries.

“No additional legislation would be needed because voters can already choose their party affiliation on voter registration forms,” he said in a response.

Meanwhile, the Secretary of State's office told the Arkansas-Democrat Gazette in June that the change needs to be made through state law. The State Board of Election Commissioners and Secretary of State John Thurston have left the Republican primaries open.

The suit aims to close the primaries again.

Dichotomy in the party

Jenifer Lancaster and Joseph Wood have slightly different visions for the Arkansas Republican party. Lancaster has called Wood a “Democrat from Chicago.”

In interviews, Lancaster often says she wants the Republican Party to have more of a “bottom-up approach.” This means the party will govern itself, instead of what she currently sees as “elites” running the party.

Ahead of the convention vote, Lancaster told Conduit News that the Republicans as a “body” should be “the ultimate authority on all party matters.” She also argued that the Republican body should have more power than the party chair, citing party rules to make her argument.

Lancaster and her husband Clinton are conservative attorneys in Arkansas. They have previously supported laws regulating libraries and laws banning voting machines to be used in elections. The couple sparred with Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders last year when she attempted to roll back the Freedom of Information Act.

The two visions for the Republican Party came to head recently in a debate over meeting space. The Saline County Republican Committee is led by Jennifer Lancaster, which has made a few decisions that are controversial within the Republican Party. For example, they put forth a vote of no confidence for Republican U.S. Rep. French Hill, as well as Sens. Tom Cotton and John Boozman, after the legislators voted to send aid to Ukraine.

A separate group called the Republican Party of Saline County owned the Benton meeting house where the Saline County Republican Committee met. The Republican Party of Saline County is led by former state party chair Doyle Webb, who disagreed with decisions the party has made, including allegedly not paying property insurance, and having closed-door meetings before regular meetings. In July, he evicted them from the meeting space.

In a statement, the Saline County Republican Committee called themselves “America First patriots” and decried the “establishments destain for the duly elected members.”

Closing the primaries

The vote to close the primaries happened on June 9. The convention meeting was held in a Rogers hotel ballroom until about 10 p.m. The party voted using a voice vote of “yea” or “nay.” Under Robert’s Rules of Order, voice votes are typically reserved for more minor decisions.

Lancaster is a frequent guest on the morning radio Dave Elswick Show on station 101.1 The Answer.

After the vote, she was on the show talking about why she supported closing the primaries. She said as Americans, members of the Arkansas Republican Party should be free “not to associate” with certain people and that the Republican party has been “infiltrated” by Democrats. The open primary system could allow Democrats to vote for more moderate Republicans.

“The people have to rise up and take back the authority that is rightly theirs,” she said.

She was frustrated that U.S. Rep. Steve Womack beat a primary challenge from state Sen. Clint Penzo, who she views as being more conservative.

She then held a town hall meeting in Conway in late June to clarify questions left over from the convention. The meeting lasted about two-and-a-half hours. During the meeting, she answered questions about party rules and the future of the party

On July 25, the Republican Party’s State Executive Committee made the decision to reopen their primaries. Joseph Wood joined other party officials in a closed door meeting that day. According to the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, more than 60 people came to the meeting to voice their opposition. Several supporters of closing the primaries were locked outside during the meeting.

In a statement to Little Rock Public Radio, Wood said Lancaster had put forward the closed primary proposal without giving prior notice. This means the vote was allegedly not on the agenda. He accused the convention of violating the party rules.

Lancaster told the Gazette that the nullification was a decision to “thwart” the people.

In August on the Dave Elswick Show, she said the grassroots part of the party was trying to bring back “accountability.”

In the lawsuit, Lancaster says the State Executive Committee cannot override rules made by the convention.

“According to the RPA rules,” she said, reiterating a point she makes often, "The final authority in all party matters shall rest in the biennial Republican State Convention ... ( emphasis added)."

She is asking for the court to close the primaries and for a jury trial.

Republican Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston has yet to respond to the lawsuit.

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