x
Breaking News
More () »

Election officials say turnout is higher after week one of early voting

Pulaski and Garland County election officials are seeing an increase in early voting turnout.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Week two of early voting is in full swing.

If you haven't cast your ballot yet, you still have some time and election officials say turnout is pretty strong this year.

As more Arkansans make their way to the polls, election commissions are keeping a close eye on where we stand so far. 

Pulaski and Garland County officials said they're seeing more early voters this year than in 2018.

"We really want people to get fired up, get excited and get on out," Terri Hollingsworth said.

Pulaski County Circuit Clerk Terri Hollingsworth said so far, early voting numbers are high, compared to this time in 2018. 

"We had 31,600 people who actually voted," Hollingsworth said.

"It slowed down a little bit on Saturday, because of the rain," Hollingsworth said.

Hollingsworth expects the momentum to continue and hopes to see more of an increase in voters this week. 

"This is gonna be a great weather week. And then we're going to have folks who are going to actually get excited, they're going to call people, they're going to go out and they're going to get their vote cast," Hollingsworth said.

Over in Garland County, Election Commission Chairman Gene Haley said they're seeing better voter turnout too. 

"In the first week, we had 10,556 vote early," Gene Haley said.

Haley said that's about 1,500 more voters than they saw after the first week in the 2018 midterms. 

"We typically do 60% or better early voting than on election day, and in years past, its crept up a little bit," Haley said.

He said as more people are comfortable getting out to the polls, there's a lot less absentee ballots this time around. 

"In 2020, of course, during the pandemic, we had almost 6,000. This time we sent out like 600 total, I think we've got 440 back in, which is typical, maybe even a little less than normal for a midterm election," Haley said.

Both Hollingsworth and Haley are dedicated to getting every eligible voter out to the polls, but especially younger people. 

"Our top age group is between 65 and 75 That's going to vote. Now we need those 18 to 30 to 40 year olds to really get out there. Let's see if they can beat them in terms of voting," Hollingsworth said.

You can early vote from now until next Monday.

Polls are open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday.

Polls are closed on Sunday.

Before You Leave, Check This Out