In an Independent interview last week, Carroll County Clerk Connie Doss said new voter registrations were much higher this year with a contentious presidential election leading the ticket.
Since May, 600 new voters have registered, bringing the total number of eligible voters in the county to 16,450. The county’s population is 28,500, and even after deducting those too young to vote, many county residents fail to register. Of those registered to vote, only about half actually cast a ballot in a typical election.
Doss was asked if younger voters predominate among new registrants, and she said she had not seen any discernible age trend. She could not summarize party affiliation, since 90 percent of people do not fill in that blank. Doss also noted than in addition to the traffic in her office from new voters, an even higher number of people have come in to check their registration. National news stories have covered efforts in various states to challenge the status of some voters. County residents can check their voting status online, at carrollcounty.us.
Election Coordinator Dorothy Brackney has kept up with the additional demands, and voter registration closed Oct. 7 for first-time voters or for anyone moving to Arkansas. For those changing their registration from another county in Arkansas, the registration deadline is Nov. 1.
Doss said she and her staff still have plenty to do between now and Nov. 5, but Brackney has expressed confidence. She has benefitted from the assistance of former election coordinator Sherry Eifling, who has temporarily re-joined the staff.
Logic and accuracy tests were performed on voting machines on Oct. 7, and early voting will begin Oct. 21. The Methodist Church in Berryville and St. Elizabeth’s in Eureka Springs will serve as early voting locations. On Election Day, St. Elizabeth’s will again serve as a polling location, along with the Holiday Island Country Club, the Green Forest Methodist Church, and Freeman Heights Church in Berryville. Polling places will also be open in Oak Grove and Osage.
Doss said mail-in ballots are still available, but she encouraged early voting instead, to avoid possible mail delays.