Turquoise Early, a senior at Fayetteville High School, couldn’t vote Tuesday because she won’t turn 18 until Thursday but she and more than 50 of her fellow students spent election day as volunteers in polling places throughout Fayetteville.
Four Springdale High School students, all Spanish native speakers, spent the day at the Rodeo Community Center polling place to assist as translators.
The students were able to observe the election process as lines of voters filed through their polling places.
“I registered to vote when I got my license but I still can’t vote,” Early said, while surveying the activity at Sequoyah Methodist Church in Fayetteville.
“I’m learning the process,” Early said. “The right to vote is one of the biggest rights. It’s a privilege.”
Over at St. John Lutheran Church, Sarah Huang and Amelia Whitaker, both 17, were directing voters and making sure ballots were deposited correctly in the box.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity to get involved,” Huang said.
“It’s good practice when we do get to vote,” Whitaker added.
The students are from Advanced Placement Government classes or the National Honor Society and spent about 6 hours in the polling places. They were excused from school for the day to participate.
“The purpose of their volunteering is to give them real life election experience, whether old enough to vote this year or not, and to reinforce their sense of civic duty in relation to voting,” said Amber Pinter, an Advanced Placement government teacher at Fayetteville High School.
Yarely Perez, 18, and a senior at Springdale High School, said she volunteered to help at the Rodeo Community Center polling place after learning of the opportunity from a teacher.
As for voting in her first presidential election, Perez said, “It was really convenient and really easy to do.”
Alejandra Alfaro, 17, said she will get credit in her service learning class at Springdale High School for the hours she spends helping with the election.
The teens were helping with translation and checking the computer list to see where voters were suppose to go if they were not listed in the books in at that polling place, Alfaro said.
Polling places were busy early and no serious problems were reported, according to Jennifer Price, Washington County Election Commission coordinator. More ballots had to be delivered to Elkins later in the day.
“It’s looked like a constant Chinese fire drill in here all day long,” said Joan Jacobs, a poll worker at Central United Methodist Church in Fayetteville. “We’re easily going to surpass our turnout from 2008.”
Voters leaving the polling place at Elmdale Baptist Church in Springdale reported an easy time and no lines during the early afternoon hours.
Jorge Covarrubias of Springdale said he purposely waited to about 2 p.m.
“It was very good, very painless, very easy,” Covarrubias said.
Brandon Horner said he didn’t have to wait at the church to cast his vote on a machine.
“It was quick, easy, simple,” he said.
Brad Hollingsworth said he doesn’t like voting machines and sticks with a paper ballot. The process was still simple with no waiting, he said.
Voters started arriving at 6:30 a.m. at Covenant Church, which serves as a polling place for five precincts. It is on Wedington Drive between Rupple and Broyles roads.
More than 100 people were in line when the poll opened at 7:30 a.m. Many said they thought the poll opened at 7 a.m. and were surprised to learn they were early.
At the Washington County Clerk’s office, Becky Lewallen, an assistant clerk, said the phone lines were “jammed” with calls from people wanting to know where to vote or to change their address. The last chance to change registration was 5 p.m. Friday.
Claudia Hill said she recently moved to Fayetteville from Jonesboro and showed up at the wrong polling place.
“I didn’t realize my voter registration card listed my polling place on the bottom,” she said.
MaeZeatta Ramsey, election supervisor at Wiggins Memorial United Methodist Church, said redistricting as a result of the 2010 U.S. Census caused more people than usual to show up at the wrong polling place. Poll workers were on hand to direct voters to their correct voting site.
County Attorney George Butler said a man from Ozark was asking if he could vote in Washington County. A ride back to Ozark was arranged so the man could cast his ballot.
Voters in Fayetteville said they didn’t have to wait in line.
“It was no big deal,” said Stella Keating, who voted around lunchtime at the Yvonne Richardson Center. “I don’t know why people always talk about long lines. I vote on election day every year because it’s no big deal.”
Glenda Watts said she always waits until election day to vote and she always chooses the paper ballot over the electronic option.
“I guess I’m just old fashioned,” she said.
Sophie Gairo of Houston, Texas, held a campaign sign for Cristi Beaumont, circuit court judge candidate in front of the Yvonne Richardson Center.
Gairo, who arrived just after 7 a.m., said the stream of voters seemed to spike at certain points.
“It was mainly crowded in the morning and then it died down a little bit,” she said. “At lunchtime, it started to pick back up.”
A similar scenario played out at Trinity Methodist Church in Fayetteville.
Cole Wolverton said Tuesday was his first time to vote. Though he didn’t have much to compare it to, Wolverton said the process was seamless.
“I didn’t have to wait in line at all,” he said, just after 1 p.m. “I went with the paper ballot because I thought it would be faster.”
Though he usually votes early, James Minyard said he waited until election day to cast his vote because of time constraints.
The Fayetteville resident said he typically chooses to vote electronically because the ballot is “easier to read.”
— Rose Ann Pearce, Kate Ward and Ron Wood contributed to this report.