Voter registration numbers surged in Craighead County

Voter registration numbers have been robust across the Natural State, but in Craighead County those numbers have surpassed all expectations as the Nov. 8 general election looms.

Craighead County has 59,384 registered voters, a nearly 20% increase from 2008, according to the County Clerk’s office. The office processed 1,617 new voter registration applications since Sept. 1, meaning nearly 15% of the increase occurred within the last five weeks before registration ended. Craighead County has 110,000 residents, which means 75-80% of eligible voters are registered now, according to the county.

“That’s the most applications we’ve ever processed in that short amount of time,” Craighead County Clerk Kade Holliday told Talk Business & Politics. “It’s unbelievable how busy we were.”

The voter registration surge is the likely by-product of the contentious presidential race between Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump, Holliday said. Several hotly contested local races are also fueling the voter rosters, he said.

Six candidates – incumbent Harold Perrin, Nathan Coleman, Harold Copenhaver, Amanda Dunavant, Tom Elwood, and John Street – will battle to be Jonesboro’s next mayor. State house district 58 will also be closely contested between incumbent Republican Brandt Smith and his well-known challenger, Democrat Nate Looney, both of Jonesboro. The eastern half of Craighead County is part of state senate district 22. Incumbent David Burnett, D-Osceola, is fighting off a strong challenge from State Rep. Dave Wallace, R-Leachville.

Holliday isn’t sure which party is spurring the voter registration wave in this part of the state, but the Grand Old Party thinks most of these new voters will identify as Republican. Chris Caldwell, U.S. Sen. John Boozman’s campaign manager, told Talk Business & Politics that Northeast Arkansas is key to the senator’s re-election efforts.

The traditional Democratic Party stronghold in the state is now a ripe target, he said. Many younger voters in the region identify as Republican, and older voters are switching their party affiliations to the GOP.

“It’s a very important part of our strategy,” Caldwell said. “The area is trending Republican, especially Craighead County,” he said.

Boozman leads his Democratic opponent 52-34% in the latest Talk Business & Politics-Hendrix College survey. Arkansas’ senior senator has strong coattails that should translate into votes for down ticket candidates in Northeast Arkansas, Caldwell said.

Repeated attempts to reach Arkansas Democratic Party Communications Director H.L. Moody for comment were unsuccessful.

The voter rolls may be full, but that doesn’t mean they will show up in mass to vote. In the 2008 general election, Craighead County had 49,705 registered voters, but only 14,720 cast ballots, about 30% of the electorate.

The totals plummeted in 2010. Only 9,137 of the 50,140 registered voters in the county voted, a paltry 18% of those eligible. Voter participation surged in 2012 when 31,700 cast ballots.

Holliday thinks a record number of Craighead County residents will vote this year. Early voting started Monday, and it was brisk, he said. Almost 1,700 voters cast ballots, and it kept election workers busy all day – a good problem to have, he said.

“I hope every registered voter, votes … I think everyone should vote and have their voice heard,” he said.