Union County residents cast votes during the last days of early voting at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium on Oct. 30, 2024. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)
EL DORADO — There was a steady flow of early voters at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium midday Wednesday. As poll workers checked voters in, Union County Election Coordinator Mike Hayes bounced around the polling site answering questions from poll workers and reporters alike.
Hayes, who is also a county election commissioner, paused briefly to listen to his voicemail and breathed a sigh of relief to learn the extra 10,000 ballots he ordered this week are on their way. Hayes, who said he’s never seen turnout like this, placed the order after having a high volume of early voters since Oct. 21.
Union County’s sole early voting location averaged more than 900 voters a day and roughly 7,400 votes had been cast by midday Wednesday, Hayes said. The numbers are up from what is normally seen in Union County, which has more than 27,000 registered voters, he said.
While Hayes was pleased with participation, he was concerned about voter education, noting that people are “very” confused over the three ballot initiatives, only two of which will have votes counted due to a court challenge that wasn’t resolved until after ballots were printed.
The two measures that did qualify for the ballot deal with changes to the state’s scholarship lottery program and casinos. Hayes said some voters don’t seem to understand all the nuances of what each measure is proposing.
“They don’t have a clue what they’re really voting on, they just see that word and they vote accordingly. That’s what worries me,” he said. “I’m concerned that people aren’t getting their choice on what they wanted because they’re just voting for the lottery, against the lottery, for the casino, against the casino.”
Literature containing detailed information about the ballot measures is available at the early voting site, but Hayes encouraged voters to research the issues before heading to the polls.
Another issue Hayes has encountered is voters, who cite social media posts, expressing concern that voting machines will change their votes. In response, poll workers remind voters they can review their ballot to make sure the machine printed out the correct choices before placing their ballot in the tabulator, he said.
The same issue has occurred at the Ouachita County Courthouse in Camden where poll sheriff Earnest Green said he offered concerned voters the same advice.
“I try to reassure them that this process is on the up and up and straight and they don’t have to worry about votes being changed or anything like that,” he said.
Green said some voters remain skeptical, but he tries to walk them through the process to help them better understand it.
Early vote turnout has been “very high” in Ouachita County where they’ve averaged around 500 voters a day, which is unusual for the smaller region, Green said. The county has roughly 15,500 registered voters and around 4,000 votes had been cast by midafternoon Wednesday, he said.
Poll workers in both counties also noted an uptick in first-time voters. Amanda Kent, early voting sheriff in Union County, said it was “refreshing to see our young people come out and vote because it’s our future.”
“That’s how I feel about it,” she said. “It’s refreshing that they care enough to come out and vote because if you want your voice heard, that’s how you do it.”
In addition to young first-time voters, Ouachita County poll worker Babs Harper said she met a 95-year-old woman who was a first-time voter.
Harper is a new poll worker who said she got involved to make sure elections were conducted honestly after having an issue at a polling site that resulted in casting a provisional ballot. Harper’s been a poll worker since the March primaries and said she has more confidence in the system and sees it as legitimate and trustworthy.
“I’ve got trust in the system now that I’ve seen the system work,” she said.
In El Dorado, Irma White said she’s enjoyed being a poll worker because you “get to meet a lot of people, it’s interesting and we make sure that the voting system stays honest.”
First-time poll worker Martha Howard in Camden said she’s always wanted to participate and got involved after seeing a flier and attending a meeting.
“It helps serve the people,” Howard said. “You are helping; there’s nothing like helping others.”
Fellow poll worker Harper is proud to contribute to the process and said participation is important.
“The point is we have a right to vote and what my opinion is doesn’t matter,” she said. “Everybody needs to come out and voice their opinion and place their vote…and that’s so important. It truly is.”
Union County and Ouachita County will operate 15 and 7 polling sites, respectively, on Election Day, Nov. 5. Early voting continues through Monday and polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day.
More information about candidates and ballot measures is available on the Advocate’s voter guide.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.