Pea Ridge Pitches Election Plan

— Pea Ridge voters may get a new polling place as the Benton County Election Commission works to revise election procedures to minimize problems with long lines and balky voting machines encountered during the Nov. 6 general election.

Mayor Jackie Crabtree and Jerry Nichols, who served as precinct sheriff in Pea Ridge, made a presentation to the commission Thursday suggesting a new polling location and several other changes to remedy their election problems. Among the changes is the relocation of the polling place from the Pea Ridge Emergency Services Building to the Family Life Center at First Baptist Church of Pea Ridge. John Brown Jr., commission chairman, said the commission will contact the church to explore using that site.

At A Glance

Nov. 6 Totals

Benton County had six early voting sites open for the Nov. 6 general election. Election records show there were 38,322 votes cast on electronic voting machines and 318 cost on paper ballots during the early voting period. A total 79,713 votes were cast in the early voting period and on Election Day.

Source: Benton County Clerk’s Office

Nichols also told the commission there were not enough voting machines in the Pea Ridge polling place on Election Day, especially after one broke down while voting was going on, and there was an inadequate number of paper ballots to keep the line of voters moving.

“We had a 600-foot-long line on election night of people waiting to vote,” Nichols said.

Nichols and Crabtree suggested the commission consider an early voting site in Pea Ridge, at least for major elections. Crabtree said the City Council meeting room in Pea Ridge City Hall could be used for early voting.

Commissioner Robbyn Tumey said the commission has to consider the cost of an early voting site and the number of voters it might serve. She said 711 voters in that precinct cast their ballots during the early voting period of the Nov. 6 election. Having an early voting station open for two weeks would cost about $9,000, Tumey said, making Pea Ridge an unlikely location.

“We would have to have a fairly large, urban area to justify that kind of cost,” she said.

Brown said the commission is reviewing many possible changes, including expanded early voting. Brown said the commission also has to weigh the consequences of any decisions, pointing out adding early voting locations will affect the number of voting machines available for use on Election Day because of requirements of state law election laws.

“We have 261 Ivotronics that go out,” Brown said of the county’s electronic voting machines. “We used 55 of those at the six early voting locations we had. Those 55 being taken out of circulation hurt us. That’s why you didn’t have enough.”

Crabtree asked the commission how the number of paper ballots available is decided, saying there were only 80 paper ballots available in Pea Ridge for the Nov. 6 election.

“I can’t think of any scenario where that would work for us,” Nichols said.

Brown said the commission is revising the process and is now looking at printing enough paper ballots to accommodate 50 percent of the registered voters in a precinct for major elections.

“For Nov. 6, you would have had 1,600 paper ballots,” Tumey said.

Tumey said printing more paper ballots will carry a cost the county has to bear, with ballots costing about 25 cents each. She said the Benton County Quorum Court will have to be convinced to provide additional money if the county uses paper ballots at that level.

“I think I can round up enough people to convince them,” Crabtree said.

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