Election chairman explains full absentee ballot process
The Sentinel-Record’s new multimedia journalist, Tyler Wann, recently spoke with Garland County Election Commission Chairman Gene Haley about the process of obtaining and filling out an absentee ballot. Wann’s video interview with Haley, outlining the process, will be available on The Sentinel-Record’s website, hotsr. com, today, and will be posted on social media later in the day. Additional videos detailing the process will also be available. Also online, take our Garland County Election quiz at hotsr.com/gc-election-quiz.
Absentee voting has started in Arkansas, and amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s gotten more popular in Garland County. Garland County Election Commission Chairman Gene Haley said the county had 1,200 absentee votes in the 2016 election. As of Tuesday, they already had 3,500 applications for absentee ballots.
Voters must first complete an application that can be obtained from the county clerk, the secretary of state’s website, or garlandcountyvote.org.
“Absentee ballots are a county clerk function, so it has to go to the county clerk’s office,” Haley said. “The county clerk will review that application, and if you’re a registered voter, they will mail you a ballot packet.”
The ballot packet includes a ballot, envelopes to return everything in, and a voter statement which Haley said is crucial for having the ballot count.
“The important part of this whole process is
the voter statement,” he said. “In the voter statement, there are instructions on the back, and on the front is what really matters. The voter has to put their name, address, date of birth, and sign it, or it cannot count.”
Voters must include a copy of a photo ID or else the ballot becomes a provisional ballot. These are examined after the fact by the election commission to determine whether or not to count them.
“We have 10 days, typically, from election day to certify the election,” he said. The deadline to register to vote in Arkansas is Oct. 5. Early voting begins Oct. 19 and Election Day is Nov. 3.