CRAWFORD COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — Voters on the first day of early voting in Crawford County had difficulty after noticing none of the candidates had party affiliations listed on their ballot.
According to Bill Coleman, Crawford County Election Commission Chairman, when people began voting this morning at the two early voting locations in the county, they noticed that party affiliations were not on the ballots next to candidates' names.
Although Coleman says the issue has now been resolved, about 500 people voted in Crawford County Monday before the issue was fixed.
While the candidates' names were on the ballot correctly and in the correct order, the Crawford County Election Commission says the affiliation detail was something they just missed.
However, voters who submitted their ballots before the system was reprogrammed were given sample ballots to look at so they could know which party each candidate was affiliated with, Coleman said.
"All the votes will be counted correctly. We did a sample testing on the new sticks before we programmed them and everything seemed to work great on that, so we feel very comfortable about where we are," Coleman said.
“To tell you the truth, I kind of felt taken a back because I thought this is our day we do the right and go and vote and it was messed up,” said Deborah Cooper.
Deborah Cooper is one of those voters who realized the candidates’ party affiliation was left off the ballot.
“I keep informed and know the issues and who I want to vote for, people who do not follow politics very well and they usually vote a straight ticket, whichever party or want to vote independent, they couldn’t do it if they didn’t know the candidate, so it was a concern,” she said.
Officials say all the absentee and paper ballots were printed correctly and that the issue is now resolved, so early voting will continue as normal.
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