Election Day In Arkansas With Touch-Screen Voting Machines

"We feel pretty good about how Election Day has started in Arkansas," Janet Harris, deputy secretary for elections and public affairs, said during a 9 a.m. press briefing this morning.

Harris said that the few items counties have reported are minor and are typical of Election Day issues.
"The things we've heard about are isolated and what you might expect with new technology," Harris said. "There's a learning curve for poll workers and voters alike, but the touch-screen voting machines seem to be operating very smoothly so far today.

Arkansas has successfully deployed approximately 2,500 iVotronic touch-screen voting machines in 1,900 polling sites in 68 counties. Election Systems & Software, the voting machine vendor, has assigned trained technicians to each county to quickly address any problems that may arise. A small number of polling sites needed assistance in walking through opening procedures, but counties reported opening polls opened on time, Harris said.

Faulkner County Clerk Melinda Reynolds echoed the positive Election Day beginning. "We've had really good results with opening of polls and getting machines ready this morning," she said. "Countywide, I'm very pleased with our poll workers and our county has done well in getting the election going today."

Secretary of State Charlie Daniels reminds voters that there are several opportunities for them to check the accuracy of their ballots before casting. The iVotronics clearly show the choices that have been made, so it's simple to correct any unintended votes, he said. If voters encounter any problems, they have the right to stop voting and ask a poll worker for help before casting their ballots.

"Our voters love the ivotronics," Reynolds said. "Everyone can read them easily and the machines work the way they are supposed to."