Numbers soar for early voting in Benton, Washington counties

BENTONVILLE -- Early voting in Northwest Arkansas continued its record-setting pace through the first five days, according to numbers provided by election officials.

More than 33,000 votes were cast during the first five days of early voting in Benton and Washington counties.

Both counties saw numbers well above the first five days of voting in the 2014 midterm election. Benton County had 19,754 voters come through this week, while Washington County had 14,029.

Benton County has 158,896 registered voters, and Washington County has 132,288 registered voters. Election officials in both counties say they expect a voter turnout of between 47 percent and 50 percent this election.

Early voting continues today and next week. Election Day is Nov. 6.

This midterm election in Benton and Washington counties is different than previous elections because there's a lot of local races, said Jay Barth, professor of politics at Hendrix College in Conway.

They include a record 14 contested legislative races in all or part of the two counties.

Five candidates are running for Bentonville mayor, nine justice of the peace seats are contested in Benton County, and 10 justice of the peace seats are in contention in Washington County. Benton County also has races for county judge and assessor, while Washington County has races for county judge, assessor, circuit clerk, county clerk and treasurer.

Barth said data he has studied points to one key reason why early voting is booming in places like Benton, Pulaski and Washington counties.

"There's tremendous interest in this election," Barth said. "There is a lot of enthusiasm."

Early voters tend to be strong partisans and are highly interested in the campaigns, he said.

Janet Hudgins of Bentonville stopped by the County Clerk's Office to vote early Friday morning before she headed to work in Springdale.

"It's easier for me to vote before I go to work," said Hudgins, who was keenly aware of items on the ballot. Hudgins touted the ease and the way it fits her schedule as the main reasons for voting early.

Bill Ackerman, chairman of the Washington County Election Commission, said Friday the first week of early voting has gone well overall.

"We had a little incident yesterday where a race was left off a ballot," Ackerman said. "That cropped up from back in 2011 when the census was done and all the districts were redrawn. We got that fixed in a timely manner, and no one was disenfranchised. Otherwise it's gone extremely well," he said.

He was referring to the races for Fayetteville's state Senate District 4.

Ackerman said turnout in the early voting period has so far been high, steady and consistent across Washington County. He said it should make election day itself smoother.

The county could see more voters casting ballots than in 2016 presidential election if voter turnout holds steady in the second week of early voting, he said.

There has been consistent lines of voters this week, said Dana Caler, elections administrator for the Benton County Clerk's Office.

Pea Ridge doesn't have an early voting site, but Mayor Jackie Crabtree said the feedback he received from residents who voted has been positive.

"They say they're in and out real quick," Crabtree said. "It's not taking much time at all."

Benton County Election Commission Chairman Russ Anzalone said based on early voting turnout and those expected to vote on election day, the turnout could be between 50 and 55 percent.

"That would be a good number," Anzalone said.

Total voter turnout in Benton County was 49.8 percent in 2014 and 67.8 percent in 2016, according to the county clerk's office. Total voter turnout in Washington County was 47 percent in 2014 and 64 percent in 2016, said Jennifer Price, election coordinator with the Washington County Election Commission.

Washington County also dealt with steady lines this week.

"It's much busier than we really thought it would be," Price said. "We always plan on the high end. Thank goodness we did."

Whitney Baccus of Springdale was at the Washington County Courthouse on Friday morning. Baccus said she has voted on Election Day in the past, but two years ago she took advantage of the opportunity to vote early.

"There's more room, for sure, than there was upstairs last time," she said. "This was busy, and it was still surprisingly quick."

Baccus said the new equipment is easy to use and she praised the poll workers.

"The gentleman who helped me was super clear with directions, and then he stood a few feet away from me, and, if I needed to, I could easily have asked him for help."

Early voting seems cemented in Arkansas, Barth said.

"It's pretty locked in," he said.

NW News on 10/27/2018