Heavy first day of runoff early voting reported
Posted on Wednesday, November 19, 2008
There were about 520 voters casting ballots Tuesday, which was the first day of early voting in Washington County for the general election runoff set Nov. 25.
The vast majority of the voters are from Fayetteville, voting in the mayor’s race, said Washington County Clerk Karen Combs Pritchard.
Fayetteville Alderman Lioneld Jordan and Mayor Dan Coody are facing off in the runoff for mayor.
“I expected this to be pretty heavy,” Pritchard said of the first day’s turnout.
Pritchard said she anticipates between 3,000 and 5,000 voters for the early voting period that ends at 4:30 p.m. Monday.
A total of 26,186 votes were cast for Fayetteville mayor in the general election, including early voters and Nov. 5 voters.
Hours for early voting are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. through Friday and on Monday, when it ends. Early voting will not take place Saturday.
The site for all early voters is the third floor of the Washington County Courthouse.
Voters may vote in the runoff even if they did not vote in the Nov. 4 general election.
Another key runoff is between Doug Sprouse and Springdale Alderman Mike Overton for Springdale mayor. Alderman Jeff Watson and Josh Jenkins are vying for the Ward 3, Position 2 seat, and Randy Pounders and Alderman Rick Evans are running for the Ward 2, Position 2 seat on the Springdale City Council.
Springdale early voters will not be able to use the Rodeo Community Center to cast their ballots; they must go to the courthouse.
In Benton County, residents may vote from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. at 300 W. Poplar St., Rogers, or at the County Administration Building in Bentonville.
In Greenland, there is a runoff between Alderman Carroll E. Hancock and Lonnie Meadows for the Ward 3, Position 1 seat on the City Council.
During the general election, about 68 percent of the 100,243 registered voters in Washington County cast ballots. Of the 68,685 voters, 24,722 voted early. Pritchard said there were 2,107 absentee voters in the general election, which includes overseas voters.
The Washington County Election Commission certified the general election results, and signed an affidavit of compliance to the State Board of Election Commissioners.
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