Today's preferential primaries and nonpartisan general election are the seventh federal or state election that Garland County voters can choose their election day polling location, but many still don't know where to cast their ballots.
The county did away with assigned polling locations in the March 2016 party primaries, adopting the vote center model that allows voters to choose from a menu of election day polling locations.
County Election Commission Chairman/Election Coordinator Gene Haley said some voters think their polling location is still a function of their precinct. New registration cards they recently received in the mail added to the confusion.
"That confused them, because there's not a location on there," Haley said Monday. "It says any vote center. That terminology still confuses people."
Sixteen vote centers will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. today. Clicking the voter view button on the election commission website, http://garlandcountyvote.org, will take voters to their sample ballot and list of vote centers.
The line for early voting extended beyond the entrance to the Election Commission Building late Monday morning. Haley said the Monday before election day has typically been the busiest day of early voting, prompting the election commission to lobby against a 2021 bill seeking to remove the date from the 13 days of early voting.
The more than 6,700 votes cast through Monday morning exceeded the early vote from May 2018, the previous primaries with all of the state's constitutional offices up for election. The county's early turnout has beaten election day turnout in the last five state or federal elections, accounting for three-fourths of the votes cast in the November 2020 general election.
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Early voting made up 53% of the 12,545 turnout in the May 2018 primaries.
"We don't have enough equipment for election day if we didn't get this much early vote," Haley said.
Six percent of the county's more than 63,000 voters registered as Republican, but Haley said the party's primary accounted for 83% of the turnout through the first 12 days of early voting. Voters who typically vote in the Democratic Party primary are voting in the Republican primary, Haley said.
"In Arkansas that's perfectly legal," he said.
Poll workers were processing the 146 absentee ballots that had been returned as of Monday, checking outer envelopes for voter statement forms and copies of voter ID. Ballot-only envelopes were set aside to be counted today. Per the state election code, poll workers can begin opening and counting ballot-only envelopes at 8:30 a.m.
Haley said the county had received 222 applications for absentee ballots as of Monday morning. Friday was the deadline for in-person delivery of absentee ballots and applications. Tonight at 7:30 is the deadline for the county clerk's office to receive ballots by mail or through a designated bearer. Ballots received after the deadline won't be counted, save those sent from overseas.
Voters can no longer sign an affidavit attesting to their identity. ID has to be shown at the polls or a copy included with absentee ballots returned to the county. Voters who don't comply have to present their ID by noon May 30 for their votes to be counted.
Voters can cast a ballot at any of the following 16 locations:
• Election Commission Building, 649A Ouachita Ave.
• Webb Community Center, 127 Pleasant St.
• Bates Community Church, 419 McClendon St.
• Former Gardner School, 625 Hammond Drive.
• Creekside Community Church, 1010 Shady Grove Road.
• Garland County Library, 1427 Malvern Ave.
• Red Oak Baptist Church, 2791 Highway 290.
• Uptown Hot Springs (Mall), 4501 Central Ave.
• Lake Hills Free Will Baptist Church, 2344 Airport Road.
• First Baptist Church of Royal, 7402 Albert Pike Road.
• Community Baptist Church, 3518 Highway 7 north.
• Mountain Pine City Hall, 241 Main St.
• Jessieville First Baptist Church, 174 Beaudry Circle.
• Fountain Lake Fire Department, 7146 Park Ave.
• Lonsdale City Hall, 501 Cockrill St.
• Roanoke Baptist Church, 236 Whittington Ave.
A voter marks their ballot Monday at the Garland County Election Commission Building. - Photo by Andrew Mobley of The Sentinel-Record