Another election has passed, and between early, absentee and Election Day voting, Union County residents showed up in droves to make sure their voices were heard.
But, it seems, no election would be complete without some sort of problem, which is what the Union County Election Commission encountered Tuesday morning when they began trying to count absentee ballots -- those sent by mail by voters unable to be physically present at a polling place.
Early voting closed Monday afternoon, and the Union County Election Commission spent time that day processing absentee ballots -- opening envelopes and ensuring voters enclosed photo copies of their IDs and affidavits swearing that the sender is a qualified voter. But commissioners weren't allowed to open the envelopes that held voters' ballots until Tuesday morning.
The absentee ballot counting should have been completed by noon, but ended up not starting until then after the commission realized Tuesday morning that a printing error prevented the absentee ballots from being counted.
"Our ballots were printed without a timing mark, so the machines can't count them, is what it comes down to," explained Mike Hayes, a Republican election commissioner.
The commission met for an emergency meeting at 12:15 p.m. to talk about how to handle the issue.
"The solution is, we're going to have two independent people who are going to vote on the ExpressVote (the county's voting machine) the absentee ballot as if it was the voter's choice. And the two commissioners -- Mike Hayes, Republican, and Floyd Thomas, Democrat -- will insert the completed ballot into the tabulator, and it will count as if that person was actually voting, not absentee, but in-person," commission chair Cliff Wright explained.
Katelyn Scott and Makayla Harbour, employees in the county assessor's and collector's offices, respectively, reported to the fourth-floor meeting room the commission was in at about 12:30 p.m. to begin punching in absentee voters' selections.
Both sat at voting machines, and Hayes demonstrated how to select the correct ballot for each absentee vote that was sent in, explaining to both women that they would need to select the absentee voter's choices exactly.
"The people from downstairs will actually take a ballot, key punch it into the machine, it'll print on (this ballot) and either Floyd or I will look at it to make sure it's exactly marked," Hayes said.
Wright noted that the solution had been approved by the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioner's legal counsel, and Hayes said the commission also had the option of re-printing blank absentee ballots and re-filling them in by hand, but instead settled on letting the independent voters punch the ballots into the voting machines.
Meanwhile, some voters around the county contended with long lines, while other polling places were able to quickly move voters through the process.
At Wyatt Baptist, approximately 20 people were waiting in line around 3 p.m., when Stephen McGuire was on his way to find another polling place to cast his vote.
"I don't know what the problem is," he said, adding that he previously voted at Wyatt in the 2018 midterms.
Inside, Mary Hostetter was seated in the back of the line, having already waited 45 minutes. She said she always votes at Wyatt Baptist.
"I'm a citizen of the United States of America," she said, giving her reason for voting this year.
Penny Qualls, an El Dorado resident, had been waiting about 25 minutes at Wyatt in a line that snaked through the church's lobby.
"I vote every year," she said.
Caleb Stutts, of El Dorado, also said he always votes at Wyatt. He had been waiting about 35 minutes, he said shortly after 3 p.m.
"(I'm voting) to make sure my vote is counted, to try to elect who needs to be elected," he said.
Things were moving a little quicker at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium around 3:45 p.m. Terry Jamerson said his voting experience was positive, and he emphasized the importance of voting.
"The country is in a volatile state. I'm ex-military, and the only way America can be destroyed is if we fight against each other; that's what Russia, China want," he said. "I put my trust in God. That'll fix it."
By 3:50 p.m., 415 voters had cast ballots at the Municipal Auditorium. In 2020, only 300 voted at the same location on Election Day, according to information provided to the News-Times by Wright, the county commission chair.
Wright said lines formed at polling places in Smackover and Parkers Chapel. The massive turnout this year played a part.
"Things have been going excellent," he said Tuesday afternoon around 4 p.m.
Poll workers at Hillsboro Street Church of Christ, which serves as the voting center for Ward 2 in El Dorado, made similar statements.
Just before 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, four voters waited in line as four others cast their ballots in the digital voting machines. Other voters filed into the church to sign in as the line moved along promptly.
Poll workers said they had kept a steady pace throughout the day Tuesday.
One voter mused at having been "in and out in five to 10 minutes."
"It's been great. It's just been steady all day. There haven't been any problems and that's been a blessing," a Hillsboro Church poll worker told the News-Times.
Kim, a poll worker at the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium (facing away), helps Terry Jamerson feed his ballot into a tabulator on Tuesday afternoon. (Caitlan Butler/News-Times)
Voters wait in line at Wyatt Baptist Church on Tuesday afternoon. (Caitlan Butler/News-Times)
Penny Qualls holds her blank ballot as she waits in line to vote at Wyatt Baptist Church on Tuesday afternoon. (Caitlan Butler/News-Times)
Local residents greet voters outside the El Dorado Municipal Auditorium on Tuesday afternoon. At right is El Dorado City Council member and candidate Dianne Hammond, R. (Caitlan Butler/News-Times)
Absentee ballots lie in stacks of 30 as county election commissioners prepare to begin counting them Tuesday afternoon. (Caitlan Butler/News-Times)