Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Arkansas Elections Mark Martin scolded for lack of election prep
Posted by Max Brantley on Wed, Jan 11, 2012 at 9:07 AM
Most of the information you’ll find there for candidates, news organizations and other citizens is left over from the 2010 election.For example, to help people determine where the various candidates for the State Senate and House of Representatives will be running, there are maps of the districts you can download. The only trouble is they are the old maps. Secretary of State Mark Martin was involved in the redistricting process after the 2010 Census, but he hasn’t yet found time to get someone in his office to make new maps available on the website.
On the front page of the Elections Division is an elections calendar for 2012, which points out that noon Sunday was the first day for nonpartisan judicial candidates to file petitions for ballot access. It doesn’t say where these petitions should be filed, what form is required or how many signatures must be gathered. And frankly I doubt that any government office was open Sunday to take the petitions. Maybe Monday.
But that calendar says we’re having a general election, a presidential election no less, on Nov. 6, and there’s a lot of paperwork to get filed, a lot of words to fly, between now and then.
There's more. Lots more.
PS — Ockert didn't even mention the lack of an updated printed or on-line initiated act guideline, with signature requirements. That's another process underway right this minute.
UPDATE: This is rich. Roy Ockert has shared a response he received from the secretary of state's office. His complaints are legitimate, the letter says, though ONE piece of information he sought actually was there. But what I love is that aide Mark Myers, who'd laugh you out of the room if you said Barack Obama inherited a financial disaster from George Bush, is blaming the former secretary of state for the problem. I kid you not.
LETTER TO OCKERT
Roy,
By and large your criticisms were legitimate. However, you were incorrect on one. You can look up 2010 election results anyway you like, just not on the same page.
This goes to a systemic change made by the previous administration.
Here is the link to the 2010 election results page that allows you to search for any and all elections, just about any way you would like to do so.http://www.votenaturally.org/electionresults/index.php?elecid=231
We're working on the rest of the things, but as I mentioned before a technology change has forced the office to prioritize its efforts across all divisions. You just happened onto one of our next projects.
As always, if you have any questions please do not hesitate to call Alex Reed (501.682.1217) or reach either of us via email.
Thanks!
Warm Regards,
- Mark
Mark Myers
Arkansas Secretary of State
Director of Strategic Initiatives
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Comments (16)
Showing 1-16 of 16
But I thought Mark spent a ton of taxpayer dollars on that retreat so he could learn how to run his department and stuff.
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dislike
I trust Mark Martin, and he knows best about elections. He is, after all, a Republican, and they know what's best for small government. Anything to keep Democrats from running or voting.
He is so ill-equipped and I suspect the rethugs like it as it discourages voter turn-out. Sloppy is as sloppy does!
When we vote based on political party rather than competence, we should not be surprised when we get incompetence.
It's those g*ddamned "paperboys" again!
"I don't need some paperboy calling attention to me. I've already been FOIed by you bastards from the liberal media and I don't need anything from you tonight."
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archi…
Seems to me Martin had a very competent opponent, but some of his staff at the county clerk's office complained that he was too fussy. Fussy I can take. Beats doing nothing.
Martin's excuse would make more sense if there hadn't been a complete overhaul of the website last Spring. Seems to me like he was more concerned with getting a picture or three of his bulbous head on the site than with getting actual information that people might care about.
Looks like Mark reaching for the Peter Principle has even embarrassed Republicans if that is possible.
It seems as though our dear Secretary of State is following the leadership principles of Boss Stodola...Do as little work for your constituents that you can so you have plenty of time left over to prepare to run for your next office.
Ahhh, the Boy Blunder, AKA Mark Martin, is on the loose once again!!
What was the technology change? It looks like the current SoS website was built on Microsoft SharePoint. Yuck, I hope they're changing away from that rotten system.
Oh...it is so worse than you may be aware...practically every board and commission on the state website is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG...and it says right there on the bottom to contact the Secretary of State's office to report changes...and I know for a fact that changes have been reported...and yet...nothing changes on the website. What you should look at is all the staff and salaries Martin is wasting with NO WORK getting done. He has a full staff for designing publication and education pieces...a full staff for election operation...and another full staff of people with vague titles like Mark Meyers' and that community affairs/relations bunch. So many people...so little work...so little production... After a year in office...thousands of salary dollars wasted...thousands spent on website re-design...thousands spent on traning...it's time to cut the excuses and get the job done.
So team buidling exercises for the SOS's office must have had a "higher" priority than having a functioning website that would benefit all state residents.
Mr. Brantley, I would love to hear your thoughts on that one.
Just wondering why Martin has the time to roam the state giving speeches (he was in Rogers earlier this week advocating for a change in term limits - priorities?????) when his office is the epitome of dysfunction. Pretty soon Arkansans will coin a new term to describe an example of extreme incompetence as "pulling a Mark Martin".
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