LITTLE ROCK — Malvern resident Micheal Douglass doesn't vote. He's never liked politics and never felt moved to cast a ballot.
Still Douglass, 43, agreed to run against an incumbent on the Hot Spring County Quorum Court when a local gadfly approached him as part of a larger effort to oust long-serving Democrats.
"I couldn't hardly do much worse of a job," Douglass, an unemployed security worker, said about his opponent, James Cranford, who has been in office for more than two decades.
But as the election approaches, it's become apparent that he wouldn't be allowed to vote, let alone hold office, if he were to win.
No one has a record of Douglass registering to vote, though he insists he went down to the courthouse and filled out a voter-registration card the day he filed to run for office.
But neither the county clerk nor secretary of state's office has a record of it, raising questions about whether his name should have been printed on the ballot and whether votes for him should be counted.
State law requires justicesof the peace to be registered to vote. The law says a candidate's name shouldn't be on a ballot if the person isn't qualified to hold office at the time of filing.
Hot Spring County Clerk Mary Ann Walters says she remembers working with Douglass in March when he filed to run for office but doesn't recall him registering to vote. She has searched her records to no avail. The secretary of state's office also has no record of him registering.
Regardless, Douglass' name was printed on the ballots, and votes for him will be counted, county officials said.
Cranford, 73, who represents District 4, says he doesn't plan to fight his opponent in court before the election.
"I don't think he's going to get enough votes" he said.
If Douglass prevails, however, Cranford said he will challenge it.
Douglass was one of seven independents and Republicans recruited in an effort to oust long-serving Democrats in the county.
Bill Lewis, who retired threeyears ago, is behind the effort to put up opponents against what he described as the "good buddy brotherhood."
He is running as an independent candidate for county judge against Democrat Bill Scrimshire. He reached out to whomever he could to run for other positions.
"It was a case of the willing," he said with a chuckle.
He said he didn't work personally with Douglass on his voter-registration and candidate forms so he doesn't know what to make of the situation.
He said if the county clerk knew Douglass wasn't registered, then she should have done something about it when there was time to remedy the situation.
But that's not the clerk's job, says Tim Humphries, an attorney for the secretary of state's office.
"The county clerk can't make a determination of eligibility," he said. "Only a circuit judge can do that."
Humphries noted that each candidate fills out a sworn statement, called a political practice pledge, that affirms he is familiar with the relevant state laws surrounding his candidacy.
Douglass signed such a form and began a humble campaignthat hasn't gone much further than attending a few local forums.
He said he wants to focus on bringing businesses and jobs to Malvern and the county.
"Just look how things are going around here," he said, adding, "All of the small businesses are closing up and moving out."
Douglass, who moved to the county to be with his ailing father after living in Northern states, said he planned to try to cast a provisional ballot and see what happens.
"I'm going to try to bring open-minded, more common sense in trying to get things done," he said.
Arkansas, Pages 7, 11 on 10/27/2008