May 14, 2021

Mr. John Felts, Chairman

Arkansas Parole Board
1302 Pike Avenue, Ste. D
North Little Rock, AR 72114

RE: Five Vote Rule

Dear Mr. Chairman:

After receiving constituent concerns regarding Parole Board decisions, I have reviewed legislation related to the
five (5) vote requirements found in A.C.A. § 16-93-201. A plain reading of the statute indicates that an affirmative
vote of five (5) of the members is required for any action to be taken. My interpretation of this is that the Board
must receive either five (5) votes in favor of the recommendation or five (5) votes against the recommendation.

While the statute is silent on a remedy if the threshold is not met, it clearly indicates a minimum number that must
be reached for the Board to proceed. As the statutorily named administrator of the Board, it is within your purview
to determine how to proceed in situations where the threshold is not met.

Moving forward, please be aware that you are required to follow the statutory parameters that set out requirements
for Board action: the affirmative vote of at least five (5) members of the board is required for any action of
the board.

Sincerely,

Solomon Graves, Secretary

Arkansas Department of Corrections

cc: Arkansas Board of Corrections