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VietnameseGriffin: ‘Preserving the integrity of our elections is foundational to maintaining our democracy’
LITTLE ROCK – Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement announcing the arrest of Deborah Smith, 57, of North Little Rock on an election-integrity charge:
“Investigators in my Election Integrity Unit, along with Prosecuting Attorney for the Sixth Judicial District Will Jones, received a referral from the State Board of Election Commissioners at the end of March, asking us to investigate the matter of 132 voter registrations having been switched from North Little Rock to Maumelle ahead of the 2024 general election. Today, Deborah Smith, a former employee of the Pulaski County Clerk’s Office, surrendered herself to the court after my investigators had obtained a warrant for her arrest.
“We determined during our investigation that Smith deliberately switched the voter registrations while employed at the clerk’s office. She is charged with one count of violation of voter eligibility, a Class D felony.
“Smith resigned from the clerk’s office when her actions were discovered, spurring an internal investigation at the clerk’s office. After being processed at the Pulaski County Detention Center today, she was released on her own recognizance. While I am pleased that we were able to make an arrest, our investigation continues.
“Preserving the integrity of our elections is foundational to maintaining our democracy. Instances like this in Arkansas are rare, but to keep them from becoming more frequent, the response of justice must be swift and decisive. I am grateful for the excellent work of my Election Integrity Unit and for the support of the State Board of Election Commissioners and Prosecutor Will Jones.”
To download a PDF version of this release, click here.
About Attorney General Tim Griffin
Tim Griffin was sworn in as the 57th Attorney General of Arkansas on January 10, 2023, having previously served as the state’s 20th Lieutenant Governor from 2015-2023. From 2011-2015, Griffin served as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s Second Congressional District, where he served on the House Committee on Ways and Means, House Armed Services Committee, House Committee on Foreign Affairs, House Committee on Ethics and House Committee on the Judiciary while also serving as a Deputy Whip for the Majority.
Griffin is currently an officer in the Arkansas Army National Guard and holds the rank of colonel. Griffin served as an officer in the U.S. Army Reserve Judge Advocate General’s (JAG) Corps for more than 28 years. In 2005, Griffin was mobilized to active duty as an Army prosecutor at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, and served with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) in Mosul, Iraq.
His previous assignments include serving as the Commander of the 2d Legal Operations Detachment in New Orleans, Louisiana; the Commander of the 134th Legal Operations Detachment at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and as a Senior Legislative Advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness at the Pentagon. Griffin earned a master’s degree in strategic studies as a Distinguished Honor Graduate from the U.S. Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania.
Griffin also served as U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, and Special Assistant to the President and Deputy Director of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush; Special Assistant to Assistant Attorney General Michael Chertoff, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice; Special Assistant U.S. Attorney, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Arkansas; Senior Investigative Counsel, Government Reform and Oversight Committee, U.S. House of Representatives; and Associate Independent Counsel, Office of Independent Counsel David M. Barrett, In re: HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros.
Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway, and Tulane Law School in New Orleans. He attended graduate school at Oxford University. He is admitted to practice law in Arkansas (active) and Louisiana (inactive). Griffin lives in Little Rock with his wife, Elizabeth, a Camden native, and their three children.
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