Former Republican secretary of state candidate Bryan Norris says the Arkansas Republican Party’s executive committee removed him from the Independence County Republican Committee, attributing the decision in part to a legal battle over election procedures.
In a statement issued Friday, Norris said the committee voted to remove him following a complaint filed on July 14. The complaint alleged that Norris paid a candidate’s filing fee and publicly stated that a Libertarian candidate for governor would appear on the November ballot. Additionally, Norris noted that his removal followed the Arkansas Supreme Court’s decision, two days after the complaint, to strike down a law central to a separate lawsuit he had filed.
“I asked a court whether nine officials could erase an election,” Norris said. “For that, the party I have belonged to my entire adult life removed me on a record it never allowed me to see.”
Norris’ lawsuit was filed on February 6 in Independence County Circuit Court. It challenges the Independence County Quorum Court’s repeal of a voter-approved ordinance requiring elections to use hand-marked, hand-counted paper ballots. He argued that decisions like those should not override voter referendums, describing it as a fundamental issue of election integrity.
Norris also raised concerns about the internal process leading to his removal from the Republican committee. He claimed the complaint against him lacked the required signatures under party rules and that he was not provided evidence or granted a hearing in his home county.
State GOP Executive Director Drew Martin, speaking to the *Arkansas Democrat-Gazette*, said that rule reviews determined several individuals had violated party regulations and that accountability would follow. Martin declined to provide specific details regarding the violations.
Attorney Clint Lancaster, who represented Norris in the lawsuit and was himself removed from the party in the past, described Norris’ removal as “absolutely ridiculous.”
Norris’ separation from the party also coincided with his endorsements of Libertarian candidates for statewide office, including Colt Shelby for governor, Michael Pakko for secretary of state, and Michael Kalagias for lieutenant governor.