Sebastian County election officials roll out ‘vote-anywhere’ voting centers

Sebastian County election officials will launch the area’s first “voting centers” during the May 22 preferential primary. The centers will replace traditional precinct-based voting in which voters had to vote at locations within their specified precincts. Under the new system, Sebastian County voters will be able to submit their votes at any location on election day.

The system is made possible through voting tablets that “talk to each other throughout the county, and every machine can hold all of the ballot styles, where before it wasn’t something that all the machines could do,” said Meghan Hassler, the county’s election coordinator.

Hassler called it a “neat idea.”

“People really like early voting, and to be able to go to whichever early voting site is convenient — and on election day, we’ve got even more sites for them to go to — hopefully, it will make it easier for people to go vote since they don’t have to rush home, and also they won’t miss voting because we close polls at 7:30. It should encourage more turnout,” Hassler said.

Early voting centers (available May 7-May 21) will be located at the Ben Geren Park Tornado Shelter, Harvest Time Tabernacle, Creekmore Park Rec Building, Greenwood City Hall, and Fort Smith Courthouse (Room G8).

Technically, the county’s voting centers were ready in September of 2017, “but it was unopposed, so we didn’t open up on election day. This is really, truly the first election that we’re doing it for real,” Hassler said.

Hassler told Talk Business & Politics the machine and software upgrades were funded as part of a pilot program and that Sebastian County had to “put up some money,” but most of it was funded through the state of Arkansas. Even through the 2016 general election, the county had been using old equipment that operated on Windows XP software, which was first released in 2001.

“Nobody supports it anymore, but that’s what (the old equipment) runs on.” However, Hassler said, the software was not prone to “problems” because voting computers are never online, and “if you don’t put your computer online, usually you don’t have any problems.”

As for what comes after May 22, there are two races — the District 8 Senate seat and the Sebastian County Sheriff’s race — that have three candidates. The multiple candidates in each race make it “likely” there will be a runoff as one of the candidates would have to get at least 50% of the vote to win on May 22, Hassler said. In that case, the county will hold a runoff on June 19.

“If they both happen, which is probably a pretty high probability, the whole county would be open, and you could vote anywhere in the county,” Hassler said.

On Wednesday (April 18), the Sebastian County Election Commission voted unanimously to limit available voting precincts to District 8 only if the Sheriff’s race is decided on May 22.

“The whole just-in-your-district thing is because we have to allocate our vote centers so far in advance, and it’s before the election, so you have to anticipate. If you don’t go ahead and state it and vote on it, you have to open everything you had open for the primary. So if you end up with just a little bitty district, but you didn’t do this, then you have to open up the whole county. It’s a lot more manpower and a lot more money.

By law, the county must keep a minimum of four personnel at each voting center.

“Some of them have more than that,” Hassler said. “It depends on the size and expected traffic historically.”

All 2018 voting centers are listed as follows:
Grand Avenue Baptist Church
Kay Rodgers Park Expo Center
St. Luke Lutheran Church
Creekmore Park Rec Building (also for early voting)
St. Bartholomew Episcopal
First Baptist Church, Fort Smith
Goddard Methodist Church
St. John Episcopal Church
Nelson-Hall Beckman Center
Windsor Library
Ramsey Junior High Tornado Shelter
Temple Baptist Church
Orr Elementary School Tornado Shelter
Southside Senior Center
Harvest Time Tabernacle (also for early voting)
Forefront Church (formerly Fianna Baptist)
East Side Baptist Church
Cliff Terrace Assembly of God
Ben Geren Park Tornado Shelter (also for early voting)
Sacred Heart of Mary Catholic Church
Rye Hill Baptist
Grace Lutheran Church
Union Baptist Church
Lavaca First Baptist Church
Cornerstone Freewill Baptist Church
Greenwood City Hall (also for early voting)
Hackett Fire Center
Huntington City Hall
Hartford Masonic Lodge
Midland City Hall
Bonanza Assembly of God
First Southern Baptist Central City
Witcherville Community Building
Faith Baptist Church, Jenny Lind
Milltown-Washburn Fire Department
Mansfield City Hall
Fort Smith Courthouse (Room G8, also for early voting)