LONOKE COUNTY, Ark. (KTHV) -- The race for constable of York township in Lonoke County will be decided by only 6 percent of the registered voters in the county come Tuesday.
A mix-up of where the two candidates live left them off the official ballot, until Thursday afternoon.
A constable is similar to a police officer. With proper training, they can carry a weapon and make arrests.
The two candidates, Chris Waters and Chris Bulice, live on the outskirts of York township, whose borders changed in 2012.
It set off a mass confusion which left them off the ballot without their knowledge.
Think of a township as a county within a county.
"We did not have a clear definition of what York Township covered,” said Lonoke County Election commissioner Chuck Eik.
As Lonoke County Election Commissioner, it's Chuck Eik's job to determine township boundaries and create the ballot based on them.
“I probably could've asked more questions. They probably could've given me a heads up,” he said of the mix up. “I don't see anybody at fault. I see a process in which there is not sufficient training.”
Eik has been on the commission for three years, but after one commissioner became a Democrat and another got a new job, all of the responsibilities were thrust onto his shoulders.
The short of it is Eik didn't know where the township line was, so when he submitted the ballot to the County Clerk she left the two opponents off, unbeknownst to anyone running.
So when Chris Water went to vote for himself he couldn't find his name.
“It's something the county needs to work on and straighten out,” he said.
County Clerk Dawn Porterfield blames it on a lack of communication.
“Do you think the fact that [Eik] taking on three people's responsibilities could've led to the miscommunication?” she was asked. “Yes, in this case I do,” she replied.
Cabot is made up for four wards, each one having a different number of registered voters. Before this mix up all 15,000 would've been able to vote on the constable race. But because early ballot votes have already been cast now only the 886 registered voters in York Township will decide. That's only 6-percent of eligible voters.
“It's kind of hard to get a fair election when less than three quarters get to vote,” said Waters’ opponent in the race, Chris Bulice. “It's disappointing the voters that should be able to vote for this election aren't able to.”
It's too late at this point to fix what's been done.
“We need more comprehensive training when it comes down to election commissioners,” Commissioner Eik said.
Eik just hopes the state and county collaborate to prevent this from happening again.
“We need to have a process that ensures the quality of the election process.”
This isn't the only area in Lonoke County this happened.
The constable race in England was also affected by the same problems.