Commission changes polling sites

Move should not have major effect in November, officials say

FAYETTEVILLE — Two Washington County polling locations for the November general election will be changed, but the move shouldn’t greatly affect voters, election commissioners said Friday.

The decision comes as commissioners prepare for an election expected to draw a large number of voters countywide.

Commissioners agreed to change a polling location at Mount Comfort Church of Christ with a site at Shiloh Community Church. People with the Mount Comfort church asked to be removed as a voting center last year, said Jennifer Price, executive director of the commission.

Another site in Cane Hill, a rural, unincorporated community in western Washington County, was changed after commissioners learned the location wasn’t compliant with the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

The polling location had been at the museum, but commissioners decided to move the site to The A. R. Carroll Drugstore next door. The new site uses a U.S. Postal Service parking area, Price said.

The change at Mount Comfort Church of Christ is for 7,947 voters, according to records provided by Price. However, Washington County voters may cast ballots at any polling location in the county.

The commission also approved a budget, early voting locations and times.

Early voting locations are: Arvest Ballpark, the Donald W. Reynolds Boys & Girls Club, Medical Arts Pharmacy & Medical Supply, Prairie Grove City Hall, the Rodeo Community Center building and two areas in the courthouse at 280 N. College Ave.

Times for the early voting locations vary and more information will be posted online, Price said.

Commissioner Max Deitchler said Friday he wants to make the early sites serve also as voting centers on Election Day in subsequent elections.

NWA Democrat-Gazette/ANTHONY REYES • @NWATONYR Sophia Roberts, 4, talks Friday with her mother, Sarah Roberts, both of Fayetteville, after Sophia gave her some flowers she picked while playing in a field near Tyson Sports Complex in Springdale. The pair was enjoying the nice weather while on a...