|
By Lynda Hollenbeck Courier Staff Early voting for the Super Tuesday presidential primary election started out slowly Tuesday, but had picked up considerably by the end of the day, Saline County Clerk Freddy Burton said.
At 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, only seven people had voted. By the end of the day, in which windy weather kept many people inside, the total was up to 349, Burton said.
Statewide, election officials reported a steady turnout Tuesday.
At least 7,000 people voted early, according to initial reports to the secretary of state’s office from about half of Arkansas’ 75 counties.
Natasha Naragon, a spokeswoman for the office, said about 8,200 people have requested absentee ballots for next week’s election.
Twenty-two states are conducting simultaneous primaries Feb. 5, but Burton said Tuesday that a lot of people in the state seem to have been unaware of the fact that the primary elections are earlier this year.
Arkansas traditionally conducts its primary elections in May and in presidential election years, the presidential candidates have been included on that ballot, Burton said.
Early voting in Saline County will continue through the end of the business day Monday at the Saline County Voting Center, located adjacent to the Saline County Complex across from the county courthouse on North Main Street.
Burton believes more people will be voting on the actual voting day this time rather than early because it appears that many people aren’t aware Arkansas is participating in the early presidential primary.
He said today that Democratic candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton’s visit to North Little Rock today likely will bring greater focus to the election and possibly spur voting. Former Republican candidate, former Gov. Mike Huckabee, is scheduled for a visit later in the week, but the time hasn’t been announced.
With those two candidates’ Arkansas ties, the other candidates have largely ignored the state and left it to those contenders with state ties.
Clinton reportedly planned to focus on the economy when she addresses a town hall meeting today at North Little Rock High School. Democratic and Republican party officials said they didn’t know of any visits planned by either Clinton or Huckabee’s rivals.
“The candidates drive the turnout,” Burton said. “By coming to Arkansas, this could affect the turnout next Tuesday.
“On the first day of early voting in November 2006, 517 voted early,” Burton said. “But there wasn’t a presidential election that year.
He pointed out that the early voting period is shorter than usual this time. “There are just five days and no extended hours. That’s what the state statute says for this election, but usually we have two weeks.”
Early voting hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in the voting center through Monday. No weekend voting will be taking place, he said.
The county has a total of 58,604 registered voters, Burton noted, and said “50 to 60 percent of that number would be considered “a good turnout.”
The Democratic Convention is scheduled Aug. 25-28 in Denver and the Republican Convention is scheduled Sep. 1-4 in Minneapolis, Minn. Burton pointed out that the presidential candidates will already be determined by the time the conventions open, which is a change from earlier years.
Party leaders and election officials had hoped that the earlier date would give Arkansas a greater say in the parties’ nomination battles and attract more campaign dollars to Arkansas. Officials have been hopeful that ballots featuring Arkansas’ former governor and the state’s former first lady could boost turnout in next week’s presidential primary.
Secretary of State Charlie Daniels said it’s too soon to predict the turnout for the presidential primary election, but said it will likely exceed the 22 percent state turnout in 2004 and the 19 percent that turned out in the 2000 primary.
Daniels said the state has seen a slight increase in the number of voters registered for the primary election this year compared to four years ago. As of last week, about 1.57 million people had registered to vote, compared to 1.54 million before the 2004 primaries.
Arkansas’ primaries are open, which means voters can cast a ballot in any party primary regardless of affiliation. Undeclared voters make up the most of the state’s registered voters.
More than 58,000 voters are registered are declared Democratic voters, while about 45,000 are registered as Republicans, according to the secretary of state’s office. Six voters have registered as members of the Green Party, which will have its first Arkansas primary as well.
Democratic Party of Arkansas chairman Bill Gwatney said he expected high turnout for his party’s primary, especially with Clinton’s appearance on the ballot. Clinton, who spent 12 years in Arkansas as the state’s first lady, has made a handful of appearances in the state during the past year and sought to highlight her ties to the state.
She’s also raised the most money in Arkansas of any of the candidates, including Huckabee, and opened a campaign office in Little Rock last year. Democratic rival Barack Obama opened a campaign office in Little Rock earlier this month.
Arkansas GOP Chairman Dennis Milligan, a Saline County resident, has predicted a heavy turnout, but said excitement for his party’s primary has dampened since the Iowa caucuses. Huckabee won the Iowa caucuses, but hasn’t racked up a win in another state since then. Huckabee’s campaign is also headquartered in Little Rock.
“Our phones were ringing off the wall,” said Milligan, who has endorsed Huckabee. “At this point, it seems like a lot of the enthusiasm has waned a little bit.”
Turnout was also steady in heavily-Republican Northwest Arkansas, where about 850 people cast ballots in Benton County on Tuesday.
“I would say that’s pretty good since this is the first day and this is the first time we’ve had a primary this early,” said Christine Southard, the county’s election administrator.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
|
Razorbacks
