GUEST ARTICLE by Eddie Campbell
For the most part, I believe that the election system within our county works very well.
We have one issue that must be rectified. Our County Clerk’s office needs to stop entering into contracts and must nullify any existing contracts that infringe upon our 1st Amendment Right to Freedom of Speech.
The purpose of some of the verbiage in these contracts is to give polling locations an option to forbid the public to electioneer at their polling locations.
I know you have a mind of your own, so don’t take my word for this. There are multiple Supreme Court Opinions applicable to this issue that support our Freedom of Speech.
Such as: “Schneider v. State, 308 U.S. 147 (1939)” “Hague v. Committee for Industrial Organization, 307 U.S. 496 (1939)” “Minnesota Voters Alliance v. Mansky, 585 U.S. _ (2018)” “Burson v. Freeman, 504 U.S. 191 (1992)” “Shuttlesworth v. City of Birmingham, 394 U.S. 147 (1969)”.
We have three Christian County citizens; Jennifer Rosebrock, Ron Sanders, and Eddie Campbell are a task force working toward the elimination of this infringement on our First Amendment.
THE STRENGTH OF OUR COUNTY IS IN THE PEOPLE, NOT IN THE ELECTED OFFICIALS
Thank you,
Eddie Campbell, aka “COUSIN EDDIE”
417-812-1303
Eddie Campbell is a Republican Committeeman representing the Riverside Precinct of Christian County, Missouri, and a City of Ozark, Missouri Ward 3 Alderman. Submit your guest remarks to: ChristianCountyTrumpet@gmail.com Full name, address, contact info required for consideration.
Further back story behind the issue
According to Jennifer Rosebrock, a concerned citizen, Nixa is home to 90 percent of these electioneering issues. Johnny Williams of the western district has less options than Eastern District Commissioner Bradley A. Jackson. That’s restricting freedom of speech.
There are 28 polling places in Christian County. Of those, 17 put up some restrictions on election signs. Basically, they require people to hold signs all day in the heat, rather than leaving the signs in the ground during election day.
Polling places are often schools and churches, and these places are reluctant to get involved in political messages.
Therefore, they are resisting our first amendment rights to free speech, concerned citizens say.
For example, the Christian County Missouri clerk’s website, shows an asterisk next to polling places with special agreements. As stated, 17 out of 28 polling places have special restrictions. Public schools and churches are putting up resistance because of the placement of political signs at polling places. “That is absurd,” Rosebrock told the CCT. “How hard is it to let candidates pick up their own signs after the election?”
Unfair treatment of candidates in county
The Western Commissioner Candidate had to have people holding signs all day at his polling places. Meanwhile, the Eastern Commissioner didn’t, because his area didn’t have such restrictions.
“That’s unfair and unequal treatment of candidates,” Rosebrock said.
In addition, Rosebrock said Christian County Clerk Paula Brumfield was going along with Life Point Church’s false claim that the contract meant NO ELECTIONEERING whatsoever. “I had to help the county clerk come to terms with what the contract means,” Rosebrock told the CCT.
“Now the general public decides what rights we have and don’t have, and the county clerk goes along with whatever they say,” she added.
“She lied to my face!”
Rosebrock looked up the new county contract with polling places and discovered that she had been lied to about the NO ELECTIONEERING option added recently.
“She lied to my face,” Rosebrock said about the County Clerk’s staff member, Erin. “I asked her if they had a NO ELECTIONEERING clause, and she said NO.”
Time to get a new County Clerk, folks? What do you think?