County prepared for Nov. 4 election
Posted on Wednesday, October 1, 2008
On June 1 of each odd-numbered year, the county sends out address confirmation cards to the 96, 000-plus registered voters in the county to make sure voters are aware of their polling stations and to keep the countyís records up to date.
The last time the address confirmation cards were sent out was June 1, 2007. When 27, 000 of the cards were not returned to the Clerkís Office or were returned by the post office as undeliverable, those voters were then moved to the countyís inactive list.
As of June 1 of this year, 5, 226 people were still listed as inactive voters in the county, said Slinkard, who also noted that the countyís voter rolls are updated daily with the registration of new voters and address updates.
It is important to note that voters who are listed with an inactive status will still be able to vote in Novemberís election because Benton County will not purge a residentís voting record, Slinkard said.
Voter rolls at the polling places on Election Day, Nov. 4, will contain the names of both active and inactive voters. People who are listed with an inactive status on voting
In order to make things flow smoothly on Election Day, Slinkard encourages voters to check their voter registration status before Nov. 4. Voter registration status can be checked by calling the Clerkís Office at 271-1013; or by visiting the Arkansas secretary of stateís Web site at sosweb. state. ar. us and clicking on the elections tab, followed by the voter information tab, then following the prompts.
To make Election Day flow a little easier, Benton County will allow registered voters to vote early, beginning Oct. 20. For those who are unable to get away during the week to cast their ballots, the county will be open for early voting from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. on two Saturdays: Oct. 25 and Nov. 1.
ì Early voting is the best thing since sliced bread, in my opinion, î Slinkard said, noting that she expects to see between 1, 000 and 1, 500 people each day participate in early voting.
Another important date to keep in mind for voters who need to cast an absentee ballot is Oct. 28. After that date, the Clerkís Office will no longer mail absentee ballots to voters.
The absentee ballots will begin being mailed Sept. 30 to those who have already requested them.
Citizens who have not yet registered with the county to vote must do so by Oct. 6 in order to participate in this yearís general election, Slinkard said.
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