As we get ready to celebrate the anniversary of our nation's birth I want to wish everyone a safe and enjoyable Independence Day. If you've not in awhile, I'd also encourage you to take time to read the Declaration. It is something I do every year around this time.

Here are some facts surrounding the Declaration of Independence.

Oct. 4, 1774 - The first Declaration of Independence was declared in the town of Worcester, Ma.

Oct. 1774 – July 1776 - 90 state and local declarations of independence were made.

April 1775 – Lexington and Concord – Beginning of Military Conflict.

May 1776 - Virginia declared its independence and sent Rep. Richard Henry Lee to the Continental Congress with specific instructions to put forth a resolution of independence for Congress to vote on.

The first draft of the declaration was written by Thomas Jefferson, who gave it to John Adams and Benjamin Franklin for editing. Jefferson then took their version, refined it further and presented it to the Congress.

July 2 - Continental Congress voted for independence. On that same day, the Pennsylvania Evening Post published this: “This day the Continental Congress declared the United Colonies Free and Independent States.”

July 4 - Congress officially adopted the Declaration of Independence document.

July 8 - Noon, Colonel John Nixon publicly read the Declaration of Independence for the first time.

July 9 - The Continental Army under the leadership of George Washington didn’t learn about it.

August 2 - The official signing ceremony occurred.
John Hancock, who was the president of the Continental Congress, signed first, right in the middle of the area for signatures. The last delegate to sign is believed to be Thomas McKean of Delaware, some time in 1777.

August 30 - The British government in London, learned that the United States had declared independence.

This is a link to a speech given by John Quincy Adams on the Declaration, who as an elder statesman, was looking back to the time of Independence when he was a boy.

https://wallbuilders.com/oration-july-4th-1837/

An Oration Delivered Before the Inhabitants of the Town of Newburyport, at their request, on the Sixty-First Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1837.

Statement from Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston on Absentee Ballot Procedures for the 2020 General Election
(LITTLE ROCK, ARK.) -- As Secretary of State and Chief Election Officer for the State of Arkansas, I have been receiving many questions and have listened to the many concerns of the citizens of Arkansas as to the upcoming November election. We are fortunate in Arkansas that we have in place the means by which registered voters may request an absentee ballot. According to Ark. Code Ann. §§ 7-5-402 and 7-5-404, a voter may request an absentee ballot due to one of the following reasons:

• You will be unavoidably absent from your polling site on Election Day, OR
• You will be unable to attend your polling site on election day due to illness or physical disability, OR
• You are a member of the Uniformed Services, merchant marines or the spouse or a dependent family member and are away from your polling location due to the member’s active duty status, OR
• A U.S. citizen whose residence is in Arkansas but is temporarily living outside the territorial limits of the United States.

Those provisions, as provided by state law, allow the voters of the state to contact their local County Clerk, and request an absentee ballot for one of the stated reasons. I understand many of our citizens may be assisting loved ones or are fearful of exposing a vulnerable family member to the virus. I understand that many are fearful of contacting or passing along the virus to others in the community. While my office continues to work with county officials to prepare polling locations, we are also anticipating and preparing for an increase in Absentee Ballot requests due to the COVID-19 virus.

It is my opinion and belief, that our current laws are sufficient to allow the registered voters of Arkansas the choice of going to their local polling location or requesting an absentee ballot from their local County Clerk. We are fortunate that our lawmakers had the foresight in crafting our election laws to allow for times of being unavoidably absent whether by natural disaster, war, or global pandemic.