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Early Voting Numbers Surpass Previous Pulaski County Record By 30,000

David Monteith
/
KUAR News

A record number of Pulaski County voters cast ballots during the early voting period for the General Election, which ended Monday. Pulaski County Election Commissioner Joshua Price says 110,284 residents voted at the polls— a 39% increase over 2016—and over 25,000 submitted absentee ballots.

"There really weren't any major hiccups," Price said. "We were prepared for a lot worse. We thought, what if the voter information isn't up to date because we've never used these e-poll books before. People said we may have protests at the polls or voters acting out, but we really haven't had any problems. We were prepared to have something, and it's been surprisingly, knock on wood, a very smooth process."

The election commission expects to process all absentee ballots on Election Day using a new high-speed ballot reader. Pulaski County Circuit and County Clerk, Terri Hollingsworth says, unlike previous elections, the county's 12 early voting sites will remain open on Election Day.

"The early voting sites will be open, and they will become what's called 'Vote Centers,' which means that anybody who lives in Pulaski County can go to one of those particular sites, instead of their precinct, and vote," Hollingsworth said.

In addition to the vote centers, 105 precinct locationswill be open in Pulaski County. Election officials anticipate 40,000–50,000 more residents will vote today, breaking previous voting records set in 2016. The polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

David Monteith worked as a reporter for KUAR News between 2015 and July 2022.