BENTONVILLE — Early voting in Benton County’s rural ambulance referendum began on schedule Tuesday despite another blast of winter weather.
“The County Clerk’s Office staff is here, and we’re ready for people to vote,” County Clerk Tena O’Brien said Tuesday. “We’ll be here at 8 o’clock in the morning, come snow, sleet, rain or shine.”
The turnout was slow Tuesday morning, with eight people casting ballots in the special election at the Bentonville office, O’Brien said. Another seven people voted in the Siloam Springs office and four voters made their way to the Rogers office. The County Clerk’s Office has estimated the number of registered voters in the district at 19,996.
The Quorum Court in September created an emergency medical services district with an $85 annual fee to pay the county’s cost to make ambulance service available. The fee will be assessed on households outside cities and not in the Northeast Benton County Emergency Medical Service District. A petition drive gathered enough signatures to force a referendum on the proposal.
At A Glance
Early Voting Times
Early voting for the Feb. 11 special election on Benton County’s rural ambulance issue will continue from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. today through Friday and Monday at the County Clerk’s offices in Bentonville, Rogers and Siloam Springs.
Source: Staff Report
The Feb. 11 vote also will be the first in the county conducted under the provisions of Act 595 of 2013, which requires voters show photo identification to vote. Information on the act and its requirements are available from the Secretary of State’s Office website at www.FaceYourVote.org. The website lists acceptable forms of identification. Voters who don’t bring an acceptable photo ID will be allowed to cast a provisional ballot, O’Brien said.
The final town hall session on the ambulance vote was held as scheduled Monday night at the Prairie Creek Association Community Center in Rogers. Justice of the Peace Brent Meyers said he estimated the crowd at around 100 people.
“It was standing room only,” Meyers said. “They had the doors open and there were people standing in the doors. I’d say it was about 50-50 for and against.”
Tuesday night’s Benton County Quorum Court Finance Committee meeting was rescheduled because of the chance of more winter weather and the risk of accidents on the icy roads, according to Tom Allen, justice of the peace for District 4 and chairman of the committee. The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Monday at the County Administration Building in Bentonville.
“I decided to err on the side of caution,” Allen said. “With the sleet and snow we’re getting and the temperatures staying below freezing, I thought it was best to postpone it.”
County offices other than the County Clerk’s Office were closed at noon Tuesday because of worsening weather conditions. County Judge Bob Clinard said he will decide when county offices reopen this morning.
“The County Clerk’s Office will remain open for early voting and the Road Department is going to continue to work,” Clinard said. “It’s going to be slick in the morning, so we may open the other offices late.”