Voter turnout in Arkansas' primary Tuesday surged to the highest level in a midterm election since the 2010 primary, records in the secretary of state's office show.
Republican Secretary of State John Thurston's office projected that about 20%, or 360,000 of the state's 1.76 million of registered voters, would cast ballots in the primary.
According to the secretary of state's website on Friday afternoon, 457,111 (25.9%) of the state's 1.76 million registered voters voted in the primary, based on unofficial results. Though Tuesday's election results won't be certified by Thurston until later, the unofficial results provide a good snapshot for comparisons.
Asked why the primary turnout proved to be larger than initially projected, Thurston spokesman Kevin Niehaus said last week that the projection of a 20% voter turnout was an estimate based off previous primary elections.
"I think the massive surge in Republican voters, this primary, reflects the great candidates that filed to run for office," he said in a written statement.
Voter turnout in primaries in midterm elections typically is lower than in presidential election primaries. The turnout in the 2020 primary was 28%, or 487,409 of the state's 1.74 million registered voters.
Tuesday's primary turnout compares with the following turnouts in the primary election in midterm elections based on the secretary of state's website.
• 327,629 of the state's 1.74 million registered voters, or 18.8 %, in 2018.
• 346,318 of the state's 1.62 million registered voters, or 21.3 %, in 2014.
• 471,615 of the state's 1.61 million registered voters, or 29.2 %, in 2010.
The higher turnout in the 2010 primary was attributed by election officials at the time to competitive primaries for the U.S. Senate seat then held by Democrat Blanche Lincoln, and contested primaries for all four of the state's four congressional seats. In the 2010 primary, then-Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Keet were unopposed.
In Tuesday's primary, there were contested primaries for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican John Boozman and contested primaries for three of the state's four congressional seats.
Unlike 2010, there were contested primaries Tuesday for governor, a post held by term-limited GOP Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
LOCAL AND STATEWIDE FACTORS
Election officials in several counties in Arkansas mostly attributed the increased turnout in this year's midterm election to local county races.
Sarah Jo Reynolds, executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas, said Republican gubernatorial nominee Sarah Huckabee Sanders is very popular and "excited a lot of people to get out to vote." Sanders is a former White House press secretary for former President Donald Trump and the daughter of former GOP Gov. Mike Huckabee, who served as the state's chief executive from July 1996 until 2007.
Reynolds said concerns about the economy, such as high inflation rates and gas prices, also fueled more people to vote in the Republican primary as more people identify themselves as Republicans. Top Republicans often link these problems to Democratic President Joe Biden.
Another factor fueling voter turnout in the primary is Republicans had record numbers of candidates for statewide offices and legislative seats as well as countywide and justice of the peace posts, she said.
Asked about why primary voter turnout was the highest in a midterm primary since 2010, Democratic Party of Arkansas Chairman Grant Tennille said that "This was likely the most expensive primary in Arkansas history with Sarah Sanders and [U.S. Sen.] John Boozman spending a combined $10 million.
"Their negative TV ads dominated the commercial breaks on all three networks and cable stations for weeks prior to Election Day," he said Friday in a written statement "It's no surprise that Democrats were outspent by candidates fueled by out-of-state money."
In Tuesday's primary, the largest number of votes cast in any of the primaries for statewide office was in the Republican primary for governor based on the unofficial results, according to the secretary of state's website Friday afternoon.
There were 347,385 votes cast in the GOP primary for governor -- 288,816 for Sanders of Little Rock and 58,569 for podcaster Doc Washburn of Little Rock -- and 94,280 in the Democratic primary for governor, including 66,444 for Chris Jones of Little Rock and the rest split among four other candidates. Jones is a former executive director of the Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub.
In contrast, there were 347,064 votes cast in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate -- including 201,349 for Boozman, of Rogers, and the rest for three other candidates -- and 91,734 in the Democratic primary for the U.S. Senate, including 49,631 for real estate agent Natalie James of Little Rock and the rest for two other candidates, according to the secretary of state's website on Friday afternoon.
The number of state and federal offices up for grabs in this year's primary totaled 199, the most in a midterm primary since 2014 when 275 posts were up for grabs, according to the secretary of state's office and the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette's archives.
The records also showed the number of state and federal candidates totaled 446 in this year's elections, and that's the highest number for any election year without a presidential race since at least 1980 based on the secretary of state's records and this newspaper's archives.
Early voting is also far more popular in 2022 than it was four years ago. In this year's primary, 208,528 Arkansans voted early based on records in the secretary of state's office, compared with 112,084 in 2018.
HIGHEST AND LOWEST TURNOUTS
Based on the secretary of state's website, Searcy, Montgomery and Pike counties reported the largest shares of registered voters who turned out in the primary election.
The website showed that 44.4% or 2,513 of 5,659 Searcy County's registered voters turned out in the primary; 43.2% or 2,194 of Montgomery County's 5,080 registered voters cast ballots; and 40.5% or 2,312 of Pike County's 5,703 registered voters cast ballots.
Officials in those counties attributed the higher turnout to county races.
Marybeth Martin, deputy clerk in Searcy County's clerk's office, said a four-candidate Republican primary for county judge and a four-candidate primary in state House of Representatives District 27 fueled voter turnout in Searcy County.
Montgomery County Clerk Penny Black said "to me, it was a terrible turnout.
"I honestly thought we would have a lot more," she said, noting that five candidates ran in the Republican primary for county sheriff.
Black said she "got beat by nine votes" for county clerk by Regina Powell in the Republican primary, as the Republican incumbents for three justice of the peace positions were defeated.
Based on the secretary of state's website, Crittenden, Mississippi and Ouchita counties reported the lowest shares of registered voters who turned out in the primary election.
The website showed that 12.8% or 4,140 of Crittenden County's 32,270 registered voters cast ballots in the primary; 15.6% or 2,962 of Mississippi County's 18,929 registered voters turned out, and 17.8% or 2,670 of Ouchita County's 14,980 registered voters cast ballots.
Crittenden County Clerk Paula Brown said "I don't know why people didn't get out to vote."
Senate Democratic leader Keith Ingram of West Memphis pointed to reports that show Crittenden County's 4,140 voter turnout Tuesday was larger than in the 2014 midterm election when 3,774 voters cast ballots in the county and in the 2018 midterm when 2,585 voters cast ballots in the county.
There has not been a lot to drive voters to the primary ballot in Crittenden County, he said.
In Crittenden County, 6,291 voters of 29,446 registered voters, or 21.3 %, cast ballots in the 2010 primary, according to state records.
Mississippi County Election Commission Chairman Thomas Wiktorek said, "We just had few local races."
LARGEST COUNTIES
Other county officials across Arkansas also attributed higher-than-expected turnout mainly to local races.
Melinda Lemons, election coordinator for Pulaski County, said the large number of state and local races drove turnout.
"I would think it would be because of all the candidates on the ballot," she said.
The state's most populous county saw a turnout rate of 25% of registered voters, higher than the 20% Lemons initially predicted. In total, 59,529 of the county's 238,029 registered voters cast ballots in the primary.
Saline County Clerk Doug Curtis said he was "tickled with the high turnout" in the county, which had a turnout rate of 26.3%. There were 20,215 ballots cast in the primary; the county has 76,941 registered voters.
He said while Sanders drew attention to the governor's race, candidates in county-level races were a big factor in getting people to the polls.
"We had a lot of local races going on that really stirred the political environment and got people out to vote," Curtis said.
Faulkner County Clerk Margaret Darter attributed higher-than-expected turnout to several contested local races, including contests for county sheriff, judge and collector. There were also three contested races on the Conway School Board because of rezoning, and the candidates campaigned diligently, Darter said.
"They were out working really hard," she said.
The county's turnout rate was 26.4%, with 20,012 of 75,842 registered voters casting a ballot.
The county also saw record-breaking turnout for early voting. About 62% of primary voters – 12,244 people – cast their ballots early, Darter said, compared with the 38% or 7,612 who voted on election day.
In the 2020 primary, 48% of voters voted early and 52% voted on election day. In 2018, 51% voted early and 49% voted on election day.
Darter wasn't sure why early voting was becoming more popular.
"I guess they just all had their mind made up," she said.
In Northwest Arkansas, Benton County election administrator Dana Caler said the governor's race and the Pea Ridge School Board races seemed to drive people to the polls. The county saw a turnout rate of about 19.6 %, with 34,367 of the 174,947 voters casting ballots.
A large number of contested county races led to a turnout rate of 21.3% in Washington County, which was lower than expected, said Jennifer Price, executive director of Washington County's Election Commission. Of the county's 138,474 registered voters, 29,571 cast a ballot.
Turnout in Sebastian County outpaced the 2018 primary, according to county election coordinator Meghan Hassler. This election, the turnout rate was 26.8%, with 18,609 of the county's 69,460 registered voters casting their ballots.
Jennifer Clack, election coordinator for Craighead County, said the county's turnout was "decent" and went well above 2018. About 8,000 people voted in that primary, she said. This election, 12,025 of the county's 56,903 registered voters cast a ballot, pushing turnout of 21.1%.
Clack also cited interest in local races as a factor in increased turnout this year.
"Maybe the candidates just worked really hard and got their people out more," she said.
Information for this article was contributed by Mike Jones and Thomas Saccente of the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.