WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — With less than four weeks away from the Nov. 5 general election, multiple counties held public testing of their voting machines on Wednesday.
Washington County Election Coordinator Jennifer Price said allowing the public to see the voting process firsthand helps build trust in local elections.
"It's an opportunity for us to invite the public in so they can see that we're open and transparent and learn to trust the system that we have," Price said.
At the Washington County Election Commission’s office in Fayetteville, those interested in seeing how votes are cast were able to fill out sample ballots and see them counted firsthand.
Price said members were also available to answer any questions about the equipment or any aspect of the voting process.
"We want the public to see what checks and balances we have in place, how the system works to prevent ballots that should not be counted on Election Day from being counted, how we're checking in voters and preventing a voter from possibly going to another location to try and vote," Price said.
According to Price, the county will have over 400 trained poll workers across its 41 polling locations. She said the number of voting marking systems at polling locations can range from 15 to three.
Price said she encourages people to vote early to avoid the long lines that can be associated with Election Day.
Early voting in Washington County will begin on Oct. 21 and will run through Nov. 4. Price said 21 sites will be open for early voting. For those who work during the week, Price said the two weekends leading up to Election Day will be available for voters to cast their votes.
For more information on the general election in Arkansas, visit the 5NEWS voting guide.
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