Primary results certified
The May 24 primary election results were certified as final and official Friday, June 3, by Benton County election officials.
The Benton County Election Commission met Friday at its office in Rogers to certify the May 24 election results. There were 34,401 votes cast, a turnout of 20%. Of that, 29,038 votes were cast for Republicans, according to official results. There are 174,979 registered voters in Benton County.
The commission also approved Republican runoffs for state Senate District 35, state House Districts 12 and 13, and the Pea Ridge School Board in Zones 1 and 3. The runoff will be June 21.
There also was discussion at the end of the meeting about early voting locations. The threemember commission discussed adding an extra site for the fiveday voting period outside of the County Clerk’s Office. Early voting starts June 14.
Grant Hodges of Centerton, Republican candidate for state House District 14, said state law supports the commission adding another site. He suggested it be in Gravette to help voters in northwest Benton County who otherwise would have to drive to Siloam Springs or Bentonville to vote — a 30-minute drive one way to either city from that part of the county. The result of the additional site would be more people voting, he said.
The candidates in runoffs for state Senate District 35 and state House District 12 are from that area, Hodges said. His area of representation wouldn’t be impacted, he said.
Hope Hendren Duke of Gravette, a Republican candidate in a runoff for state House District 12 against Jay Oliphant, told the commission the desired result is to get people to vote. She also mentioned high gas prices in the area.
“That is a real deal right now,” she said.
The commission, however, decided to keep early voting sites at the County Clerk’s Office locations in Bentonville, Rogers and Siloam Springs.
Hodges said he was disappointed in the commission’s decision.
“Things obviously need to be clarified, but I think the law provided the opportunity to add voting locations,” he said. “The Election Commission had the opportunity to make it easier to vote in these runoff elections, and they voted not to do so, which I find disturbing and disappointing. The law allowed them to do it, and out of concern for the future or ‘what ifs,’ they decided to make it more difficult to vote in this election, and runoffs are already really low participation, and this is just going to make this worse.”