The Saline County Election Commission will meet Monday afternoon for a hearing, and to discuss two items. Read more below ? about (1.) a decision on whether to accept the provisional ballots from the recent Primary Election, and (2.) the options for voting sites in the upcoming Primary Runoff election.
1. There will be a provisional ballot hearing on Monday, March 11th at 11:30 a.m. Then at Noon, Commissioners will vote to accept or reject the provisional ballots.
I’ve said “provisional ballots” a few times already, so let’s explain what makes a ballot provisional. Allison Cain is the Election Coordinator at the Saline County Clerk’s Office. She provided the a copy of the “Provisional Voter Envelope.” You can see the example below.
First off, you might wonder if this item on the agenda is because there are two races that are close enough to be flipped by these provisional votes. According to Cain, the number of provisional ballots aren’t enough to affect the outcome of any race that occurred in the Primary Election on March 5th, 2024.
The options on the form list at least 8 reasons a vote could be considered provisional:
- Failure to show a qualifying ID
- Poll watcher challenge
- Not on precinct voter registration list (poll tablet)
- First-time flagged voter – failed to show required document
- Previously sent an absentee ballot
- Marked as having already voted
- Court-ordered voting extension
- Voter requested an alternative ballot
- And “Other”
2. Commissioners will also set voting sites for the Primary Runoff Election on Tuesday, April 2nd, 2024. Read more about who is in the Primary Runoff by visiting section 3 on this page: https://www.mysaline.com/2024-elections-primary-summary/
This meeting will take place at the Benton Vote Center at 221 N. Main St., Benton, AR 72015. It is open to the public.
See the list of all events in Saline County and submit your own at www.mysaline.com/events.