Former Pulaski County clerk employee receives suspended sentence for tampering with voter files

Special Agent JayP Massiet of the Election Integrity Unit launched an inquiry in April 2025 after reports that a Pulaski County elections worker had modified precinct information. System logs showed that in October 2024, Deborah Smith used her credentials and a single-use security code to alter the street file, changing precinct numbers for 132 voters and relocating council candidate Nicole Hart from a North Little Rock ward to a Maumelle precinct.

The alteration required navigating multiple screens and scrolling functions, indicating intentional action rather than an error. Smith resigned once authorities grew suspicious. She later pleaded no contest to a Class D felony, and Circuit Judge Karen Whatley imposed a two-year suspended sentence as part of a plea agreement with the state attorney general’s office.