Early Voting Ends, Election Day Push Begins

After a year-and-a-half of campaigning, early voting ended Monday as the campaigns prepared for Election Day efforts that will continue until the polls close on Tuesday.

According to the latest available numbers from the secretary of state’s office, 346,592 people have voted early – 100,000 more than the 242,048 who voted early in the last midterm election in 2010.

The numbers of early voters in large counties as of noon on Monday were:

– Pulaski County, 55,700, up 15,530 from 40,170 in 2010
– Benton County, 28,493 up 10,228 from 18,265 in 2010
– Saline County, 19,753, up 5,919 from 13,834 in 2010
– Faulkner County, 18,759, up 6,761 from 11,998 in 2010
– Washington County, 17,598, up 9,234 from 8,364 in 2010
– Garland County, 14,313, down 89 from 14,402 in 2010
– Craighead County, 12,266, up 2,359 from 9,907 in 2010
– Sebastian County, 11,970, up 1,335 from 10,635 in 2010
– Lonoke County, 8,800, up 2,426 from 6,374 in 2010
– White County, 7,576, up 643 from 6,933 in 2010
– Jefferson County, 7,236, up 1,960 from 5,276 in 2010

Final early vote totals will be updated Tuesday morning.

More than 60,000 television ads have been broadcast in Arkansas’ U.S. Senate race alone, according to the Center for Public Integrity.

But Democrats, who have been trailing in several reputable polls, are pinning their hopes on getting their voters – dormant and new ones – to turn out. According to Robert McLarty, coordinated campaign director for the Arkansas Democratic Party, more than 1,000 volunteers knocked on 75,000 doors over the weekend. Similar efforts were continuing this week.

“We have our targets,” McLarty said. “We know where they live. We know if they’ve voted or not. We start off with a complete list minus everybody that’s voted thus far of people that we feel that we have to push to go vote.”

McLarty said Recently, the school ratings drummed up an extra . a couple of thousand volunteers will make several passes Tuesday trying to reach targeted voters.

McLarty believes the early vote is going well for his Democratic candidates. He said turnout has been strong in areas where Democrats need to be strong, including in Washington County, where he said internal polls show Democrats leading. He said Democrats have closed the gap in Republican-leaning Benton County.

“It’s a little surgical,” he said. “We’re not saying we’re going to win these Republican counties, but a couple of points here, a couple of points there in the grand scheme of things can make the difference in winning statewide.”

Republicans have countered with their own ground game. The state party, which normally has a staff of four, has increased by an additional 50 paid employees, said Republican Party of Arkansas Chairman Doyle Webb. The party has been operating with 14 offices around the state in addition to county offices and state headquarters.

David Ray, spokesperson for Rep. Tom Cotton’s Senate campaign, said that on Sunday more than 100 people went door-to-door out of the campaign’s Little Rock office while 70 made phone calls from there on Sunday night. Meanwhile, another 100 went door-to-door out of the campaign’s Springdale office.

Ray pointed to strong early voter turnout in Republican-leaning counties like Saline County and said Republicans will exceed the Democrats’ grassroots efforts.

“They’ve spent a lot of time crowing about their ground game because they’re behind in the polls and don’t have anything else they can talk about,” he said.

Polls open on Tuesday at 7:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m.