A new federal lawsuit filed by a longtime poll worker claims Pulaski County election officials refused to appoint him to work a special election in September because he opposed recently passed state voting laws, including the requirement to show photo ID to vote.
Barry Haas, 74, of Little Rock filed suit in federal court in Little Rock on Tuesday accusing the Pulaski County Board of Election Commissioners -- chairwoman Kristi Stahr and board members David Scott and Susan Inman -- of violating his constitutional free speech rights, saying he was specifically excluded from working a special sales tax election in Little Rock because of his opposition to a voter ID requirement.
According to a video recording of a Sept. 7 commission meeting, Scott introduced a slate of four poll worker candidates who had signed up to work a special sales tax election in Little Rock that was held on Sept. 14.
After looking over the list of prospective poll worker candidates, Stahr said she would object to the list because of one name on the list, which she initially declined to identify but said she had information to indicate that person may not follow the law.
"I'm making an objection to someone on the list who refuses to follow the law on voter ID," Stahr said at the meeting.
"It's not appropriate to appoint a poll worker who won't uphold the Constitution."
When Inman asked for proof of Stahr's allegations, Stahr said she had seen social media claims by Haas indicating that he would not enforce the voter ID law in the election.
Stahr said Tuesday that she planned to resign from the commission at the end of the month. She said the decision to resign was unrelated to Haas' litigation.
Contacted by phone Tuesday, Haas said he is a vocal opponent of the state's voter ID requirement. He has sued the state twice over iterations of the law, but he said he has always followed the law when working the polls and has never posted anything on social media.
"I specifically don't do Facebook, Twitter; I don't even know the names of all the social media stuff," Haas said. "I'm 74 years old. That's for younger people by and large, and I don't have time to waste on that kind of stuff."
Stahr said Tuesday that she didn't recall where she had seen the statements that she attributed to Haas at the September meeting, saying that the incidents she related had occurred some two years earlier.
[DOCUMENT: Lawsuit » arkansasonline.com/119suit/]
[DOCUMENT: Chairwoman Kristi Stahr's letter of resignation » arkansasonline.com/119letter/]
"I don't know if it was on like a news story post or through one of his relatives," Stahr said. "But I remember something that was inappropriate on the board. ... It seems like he or someone else had posted a letter to the editor ... an op-ed or something."
Stahr could not point to any specific instances where Haas had broken any laws while working the polls, but she said as a voter in a past election, Haas had refused to show his ID at a polling site and told election commissioners later that he should not have to show an ID to vote.
"That's the reason it gave me pause to appoint him," Stahr said.
By not appointing him, the commission violated his First Amendment right to voice his opinion as a citizen by denying him a poll worker appointment on the basis of his opposition to the voter ID law, Haas' lawsuit claimed. He said this was despite a spotless 20-year record as a poll worker, including the 2020 general election, which his complaint said was conducted after he had made public his opposition to the voter ID law.
Arkansans approved an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution in 2018 to require a valid photo ID before voters can cast ballots. Haas had successfully sued the state over past efforts by Republican lawmakers to implement voter-ID requirements through statute.
Haas said Tuesday that he believes voter-ID laws disenfranchise those living in poverty. Despite a state law mandating free photo IDs for voters, there remain underlying costs, like travel, to obtaining valid identification.
"In my mind that's not free," he said. "Low income people will just blow it off and say 'I just can't afford to get that free ID even though I lose my right to vote."