Absentee voting in Arkansas rated difficult

But applications flooding in; following instructions to letter is key, experts say

Connie Hoffman (center), a member of the League of Women Voters of Arkansas, helps Kevin Sivley of Garfield and his neighbor Richard Lee to arrange for Lee's absentee ballot Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, while registering people to vote in front of the Walmart Supercenter at 2110 W. Walnut St. in Rogers. Voters must be registered by Oct. 5 to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 3 general election. Visit nwaonline.com/200822Daily/ for the Aug. 21, 2020, photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)
Connie Hoffman (center), a member of the League of Women Voters of Arkansas, helps Kevin Sivley of Garfield and his neighbor Richard Lee to arrange for Lee's absentee ballot Friday, Aug. 21, 2020, while registering people to vote in front of the Walmart Supercenter at 2110 W. Walnut St. in Rogers. Voters must be registered by Oct. 5 to be eligible to vote in the Nov. 3 general election. Visit nwaonline.com/200822Daily/ for the Aug. 21, 2020, photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Andy Shupe)

As the coronavirus pandemic rages on, Arkansas is among states where it's relatively difficult to vote absentee and avoid crowded polling places for the Nov. 3 presidential election, according to a national political analysis website.

Yet despite the obstacles, a crush of Arkansas voters is applying to cast absentee ballots this fall.

In Pulaski County alone, the clerk's office had received 18,358 requests to vote absentee as of Thursday, almost four weeks before deadline. For the 2016 presidential election, the Pulaski County clerk's office mailed 7,784 absentee ballots.

Arkansas is among the second-to-lowest tier of states for ease of absentee voting, according to FiveThirtyEight, a political and polling internet site that reviewed all 50 states.

That's because this state requires voters to take the initiative to obtain and complete absentee ballot applications, then wait to be approved and receive ballots, according to the political website, which is owned by ABC News.

[RELATED » Full coverage of elections in Arkansas » arkansasonline.com/elections/]

Many states make the process easier by automatically mailing absentee ballot applications to all active voters -- or eliminating applications and mailing ballots directly to all.

To aid absentee voters, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette -- with information from the League of Women Voters, the Pulaski County circuit/county clerk and the secretary of state -- has compiled advice below for the election.

The first tip, according to experts: Don't wait any longer to request an absentee ballot.

Waiting until the Oct. 27 deadline for mail-in applications allows only one week for clerks to review the application, provide an absentee ballot -- usually by mail -- and for the voter to fill it out and return the ballot package.

[CORONAVIRUS: Click here for our complete coverage » arkansasonline.com/coronavirus]

More advice for Arkansas absentee voters:

• For all questions related to voting, the best contact is the county clerk's office in the county where a voter is registered or resides.

The secretary of state's website provides this current list of county clerks, printed on the absentee ballot request form: https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/uploads/elections/countyclerksforwebsite.pdf

The list includes names, addresses, phone and fax numbers and email for all 75 counties. It does not include website addresses.

PART 1: REQUEST A BALLOT

• Get the "Arkansas Application for Absentee Ballot."

The forms are available on the secretary of state website at: https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/uploads/elections/Absentee_Ballot_Application_1.pdf

Print a paper copy for each absentee voter. There's no option to fill out applications online.

Forms are available on some county clerk websites, including the largest counties of Pulaski, Benton, Washington, Sebastian and Craighead. Look for them under information for voters.

Not all county clerk offices have websites and of those that do, not all have absentee ballot forms.

The applications also can be obtained by phone, fax, email or an in-person visit to the voter's county clerk office. When calling, keep in mind that many county clerks are exceptionally busy right now.

• Fill out the absentee ballot application.

"The most important thing in completing the application is filling it out correctly," said Susan Inman, a League of Women Voters election specialist and former state elections director and Pulaski County elections coordinator.

County clerk offices review the forms for accuracy and completeness.

Inman, who has voted absentee several times, stresses the importance of getting the voter's signature and date of birth on the application, as well as voter address and where to receive the ballot.

Some details aren't as important. If a voter's first name is "Samuel" on the voter registration form, but the voter signs the application as "Sam," the county clerk isn't likely to reject that, she said.

The secretary of state's directions for filling out the application include dating it at the top and addressing it to the voter's county clerk office. Other sections to fill out include:

• Reason for request -- Most voters will check the first box, saying they will be "unavoidably absent from my polling site on Election Day." Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed an Aug. 7 executive order that permits voters with covid-19 worries to check that box.

• Residence -- Most voters will check the first box saying they reside within the county where they are registered.

• Request for appropriate absentee ballots -- Check the third box, "General Election/Nonpartisan Runoff & General Election Runoff," to vote in the Nov. 3 election. Ignore other boxes, including party affiliation.

• How to receive the ballot -- Most voters will check the third box, "Mail." Be sure to write the correct voter name and mailing address. Voters also can pick up their ballots at the county clerk's office.

Another option is to send a "designated bearer," who is a person who will pick up the form for the voter at the county clerk office, starting Oct. 19, and return it. If the absentee voter checks the designated-bearer box, the application must have the bearer's printed name beside the checked box, and the designated bearer's signature at the bottom right of the form. A designated bearer must have a photo ID and can pick up and return ballots for no more than two voters.

There are also provisions for nursing-home administrators and other authorized agents to deliver ballots to county clerk offices, usually in case of emergency involving the voter.

• Bottom line -- The application also requires at bottom: voter's printed or typed name, signature, address and date of birth.

Election experts advise voters to photograph their absentee ballot applications before sending, especially to compare that information when it's time to fill out the ballots.

Mail the ballot request to the county clerk where the voter is registered, or send it by fax or email. Deadline for the county clerk to receive it by mail is Oct. 27. A Pulaski County clerk spokesman said there's no prohibition against county clerks mailing ballots to voters after that date, but voters must return those ballots personally to the clerk's office.

Military voters and overseas citizens follow a different absentee voting process, explained on the secretary of state's website at https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/elections/military-and-overseas-citizens

Voters can track their ballot requests on the secretary of state's voterview website: https://www.voterview.ar-nova.org/voterview

PART 2: FILL OUT THE BALLOT

• Fill out the absentee ballot, which is part of a package that also includes a voter statement, two envelopes and a requirement for voters to provide a copy of a photo ID.

• "Bubble in" the candidate choices and ballot question decisions, experts say. Black ink is recommended.

• When finished, the voter should place the completed ballot in the smaller envelope, which statutes and election materials refer to as the "secrecy" or "ballot-only" or "inner" envelope. The voter should seal this smaller envelope.

• Place the ballot and sealed envelope in the larger "return" or "outer" envelope, which will hold all documents the voter must return.

• Voters also are required to fill out the "voter statement," which may be on colorful paper if individual county clerks choose. Instructions are on the reverse side. Fill out all required sections, which include printed name, the address on file for the voter's registration and date of birth.

Also required is the voter's signature, which poll workers will check to see it matches the signature on the ballot application. There also are spots for optional information, to be filled out if the voter isn't returning the ballot by mail or doesn't provide a photo ID.

• If possible, the voter should make a copy of a photo ID and send it with the ballot package. Copies of driver's licenses, photo identification cards, military identification, concealed-handgun carry licenses and U.S. passports are among acceptable identifying documents to enclose. County clerk offices can answer questions on the matter.

The ballot, sealed inside the smaller envelope; the voter statement; and the photo ID all fit in the larger outer envelope. In Pulaski County, it takes three first-class stamps to mail all the materials back to the county clerk's office.

• There are three ways to return the ballot package. By mail, it must arrive at the clerk's office by 7:30 p.m. Election Day.

The voter can return it in person, showing a photo ID, to the county courthouse. But that deadline is earlier: 5 p.m. Nov. 2.

The ballot also can be returned by the designated bearer, administrator or authorized agent, with a deadline of 7:30 p.m. Election Day.

• Easy or no. In a recent seminar on absentee voting, Terri Hollingsworth, the Pulaski County clerk, described the process as "easy peazy."

The FiveThirtyEight politics website disagrees: It rates Arkansas among more difficult states because "everyone can vote by mail, but nothing is automatically mailed to voters."

Iowa is among more absentee-friendly states because it automatically mails applications to all active voters, FiveThirtyEight found.

Colorado is among the very easiest states to vote absentee because it has eliminated applications and automatically mails ballots up to 20 days before the election to all active, registered voters.

Arkansas voters may take comfort in this FiveThirtyEight finding: A handful of states make absentee voting more difficult than Arkansas does.

Among them, Mississippi requires absentee voters to choose from a list of specific excuses, such as being away from the county, disabled or elderly. There's no general excuse like Arkansas' "unavoidably absent" to apply to anyone worried about covid-19 and potentially crowded polling places.

For voters in Mississippi and similar states, FiveThirtyEight notes, "the pandemic doesn't count."

How to fill out an absentee ballot request form
How to fill out an absentee ballot request form

Upcoming Events