LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Just when you thought election season was over, voters in Maumelle and Jacksonville are heading back to the polls to vote in a city council runoff.
Many may ask: what exactly is a runoff and why are voters still needed for it?
According to Pulaski County Election Coordinator, Amanda Dickens, a runoff occurs when you have three or more candidates in a race and there's no majority vote among the candidates.
When that's the case, a runoff occurs between the top two vote-getters in that race.
With that in mind, Dickens is urging voters to get back out this holiday season, as voter turnout typically struggles during runoffs.
"It is a little harder to encourage those folks to come back out and vote, but it is very important," she said. "I mean, these are city council races, they make very important decisions about things that happen in the city."
According to unofficial early voting numbers from the Pulaski County Election Department, here's a breakdown of how it went:
- Votes casted on Nov. 26, 2024: 486
- Votes casted on Nov. 26, 2024: 251
- Total early votes casted this election: 737
Just like before, Dickens said that you need to have a valid photo ID to check in at your correct polling site.
An election official will ask you to state your name, address, and date of birth.
The election official will request for you to provide an approved form of ID.
Early voting dates and hours vary by location, especially with the holidays.
According to Dickens here are the polling locations for residents in Maumelle and Jacksonville:
Since this runoff is happening around a holiday, Dickens said that there are a couple things to keep in mind.
"There will be no early voting on Thanksgiving Day but will be early voting on the Friday after Thanksgiving but not in Maumelle," Dickens said.
According to Dickens, voters are allowed to come to the downtown Little Rock location or travel to Jacksonville in order to cast their vote.
Since early voting has already started, it doesn't matter which polling site you attend but on Dec. 3, 2024, which is election day, you have to vote at your assigned polling site for your vote to count.