**Draft – Ready for Review**
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In September 2024, the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Cooperative Extension Service partnered with Independence County officials to create an educational fact sheet about the paper ballot ballot measure. The stated goal: produce “neutral and informative materials” to help voters make informed decisions.
But FOIA documents reveal that the county officials providing information for the fact sheet were the same people actively fighting the measure in court — and coordinating their legal strategy with the Association of Arkansas Counties.
## The Same People on Both Sides
Michelle Mobley, the Independence County Extension Agent, reached out to County Clerk Tracey Mitchell, County Judge Kevin Jeffery, and county attorney Daniel Haney on September 11, 2024, asking for help developing the fact sheet.
Mitchell’s response was detailed and, on its surface, factual. She described the county’s current voting process, noted the county had 20,828 registered voters, and provided election budget figures ($190,836.55 in 2022 and $183,990.99 in 2020).
But Mitchell was also copied on Haney’s legal coordination emails with AAC attorneys. She had thanked Haney for “working so hard for us” after the August 20 court hearing. She had sent the revised rejection letter to the petitioners’ attorney on Haney’s advice. She was not a neutral source of information.
## “Opponent Information Needed”
On September 23, 2024, Mobley emailed the same group asking for “two bullet points from opponents” to balance the fact sheet. The request went to Mitchell, Haney, the election commissioners, and Judge Jeffery — the very officials who had been coordinating the legal opposition.
This means the people fighting the measure in court were also writing the “opponent” section of the supposedly neutral voter education material.
## Election Commissioners as Advocates
The fact sheet coordination included election commissioners Cathy Drew, Barbara Henson, Jennifer Emery, and Wendy Henderson. These commissioners were also copied on Haney’s legal strategy emails about the paper ballot case.
Cathy Drew went even further: she sent ballot proofs to attorney Clint Lancaster for review, showing she was involved in the administrative process while also participating in the political opposition.
## What Voters Deserved
Voters deserved genuinely neutral information. Instead, the fact sheet was shaped by officials who had a clear position — and who were using taxpayer-funded legal resources to fight the very measure they were being asked to explain objectively.
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*Source: Emails obtained through FOIA from the offices of Daniel Haney (Oct 29, 2024) and the Independence County Clerk.*