It’s an election year again, and voters in Union County will decide on several general election candidates in the March 3 primary elections.
Those that wish to participate in the primary elections must register to vote by the end of business hours on Feb. 3 to do so. The primaries will help determine partisan candidates for the general election.
Union County Clerk Shannon Phillips said that those who have moved in the past five or six years should check their registration to ensure it corresponds with their current address. Otherwise, they will need to update their registration by the Feb. 3 deadline.
“[Residents] need to call and verify their voting address if they haven’t voted in a while, if they’re registered but have not received a card or if they have moved in the last five or six years,” she said. “The new system is very different and their address has to be changed in our office before they can vote.”
Union County residents may register to vote at the Clerk’s office in the Union County Courthouse. Voter registration forms are available at the Clerk’s office or they can be printed online at the Arkansas Secretary of State’s website; they are also usually available at local revenue, disability and military recruitment offices and public libraries.
The county recently switched from a precinct-based voting system to ‘vote centers,’ which were introduced in Arkansas in 2013. The new system will allow any registered voter to vote at any polling place in the county, where previously, voters were assigned to specific polling places.
The Union County Election Commission met Friday. Commissioner Janelle Williams was elevated at the meeting to Chairperson of the group, while former Chair Dr. Kermit Parks took the Commission’s secretary position.
Several local races will be determined in next month’s primary elections, including one position on the Union County Quorum Court, one on the El Dorado City Council and one in Strong’s municipal government.
Donnie Crawford is challenging incumbent District 8 Justice of the Peace William Crowder in the Republican primaries for the seat on the Union County Quorum Court.
Former El Dorado Mayor Frank Hash will face off with incumbent Ward 1, Position 2 Councilmember Billy Blann in the Republican primaries for the El Dorado City Council seat.
In Strong, Latasha Gatlin is challenging incumbent Allison Howell for the city’s Recorder/Treasurer position. Both candidates are Democrats.
Two candidates vying for incumbent state Sen. Trent Garner’s seat will also face off. Keidra Burrell and Garry L. Smith will see each other in the Democratic primaries; the winner will go on to face Garner in the general election.
The primaries will also give voters the opportunity to choose their favorite candidates for President. Incumbent President Donald Trump faces two Republican challengers, former U.S. Attorney and Gov. of Massachusetts Bill Weld and businessman Roque De La Fuente.
Several Democrats that filed for the Democratic primaries in Arkansas have since announced that they have dropped out of the race. Those still running that filed in Arkansas include Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, former Vice President Joe Biden, former U.S. Rep. John Delaney, former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg, lawyer and businessman Andrew Yang, businessman and activist Tom Steyer and businessman and former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg.
Early voting is scheduled to begin Tuesday, Feb. 18; the Monday preceding it is President’s Day, a holiday. Early voting will be held through Election Day, March 3, at the County Clerk’s office in the Union County Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. through 4 p.m. on Saturday’s. Early voting will end at 5 p.m. on March 2.
Absentee voting is also available for those who will be unable to vote on Election Day. One may apply for early voting at the County Clerk’s office at the Courthouse or by downloading a ballot from the Arkansas Secretary of State’s website at sos.arkansas.gov/elections/voter-information/absentee-voting.
“We do encourage that everyone that is able to come out either during early voting or on Election Day and try the new voting equipment,” Phillips said.
The county was given new voting machines in 2018 by the State of Arkansas; they were not used in that year’s midterm elections, but they were used in school board elections that were held last May. No problems were reported in that election.
“For voters that have verified their address information and that they are registered, I believe voting will be a much better experience. No one will be required to set their machine so human error will be eliminated; they will get to print out and see their ballot before they put it in the next machine to be counted,” Phillips said. “I think everyone will love being able to verify their selection before it is counted and once everyone gets the hang of everything I think its going to be faster at the polling sites, on top of the fact that you’ll be able to walk into any polling location and cast your vote.”
The Election Commission has two poll worker training sessions planned before the March 3 primaries – one on Thursday, Jan. 30, and another on Thursday, Feb. 6. The training sessions will be held at 6 p.m. both nights on the second floor of Simmons Bank at 100 W. Grove St. in El Dorado.
Poll workers are paid $25 to train and $100 on Election Day. Since the county will be utilizing new voting machines, poll workers who have previously been trained must attend one of these sessions in order to work as a poll worker for the election. Phillips said poll workers will need a degree of computer literacy because of the new electronic voting machines. For more information about becoming a poll worker, contact Janelle Williams at 870-814-6057 or at [email protected].
Caitlan Butler can be reached at 870-862-6611 or [email protected].