What Arkansans said on the first day of early voting for the midterm election

Polls across Arkansas opened for early voting Monday, with thousands of people expected to cast their ballots before Election Day next month.

Voters will decide whether to grant Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and the state’s four congressmen — all Republicans — new terms. All six are facing Democratic challengers, and some are also contending with Libertarian candidates.

Samantha Boyd, a spokesperson for the Arkansas secretary of state’s office, said it anticipated 500,000 people, or half of the total number of people expected to cast a ballot, to vote early this year.

Here’s what Arkansans said about the candidates and the issues as they early voted:

Republican voters cite Trump ties as a plus

Saline County, a Republican stronghold in central Arkansas, saw nearly 600 voters by mid-morning Monday, county communications director Trevor Villines said.

Some voters expressed enthusiasm for Republican candidates such as Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

“She’s in there doing the job right, and we need somebody that’s going to continue doing the job right,” said AJ Burchfield of Haskell, who voted Republican in every state and federal race.

Retired police officer William Good of Benton said voting Republican down the ballot mattered most to him. He said he hadn’t read the ballot measures and that he wanted to vote for anyone aligned with President Donald Trump, including U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton and U.S. Rep. French Hill.

Democrats cite frustration with president

Other Benton residents said their frustrations with the Trump administration motivated them to vote for Democrats, including Hill’s opponent, Chris Jones, and Cotton’s opponent Hallie Shoffner.

“[I hope] we are sending candidates to Congress that are going to help balance the scales rather than support blindly those who are already in power,” said Tanner Oglesby, a teacher.

Robert Zimmerman said he typically votes for Democrats because Republicans “represent everything that’s wrong in this country,” such as cuts to public benefits and Social Security.

Neil McElhaney said he also supported Shoffner and Jones because “it’s time for a change.” He said elected Republicans’ rhetoric toward immigrants and LGBTQ+ people frustrates him.

On the local level, Oglesby and McElhaney said they voted against Saline County’s proposal to reduce the property tax funding the local library system.

“We need to keep the library funded,” McElhaney said. “Education is key. My mother, being a retired English teacher, has always stressed education.”

Pulaski County voter opposing incumbents

Pulaski County’s downtown Little Rock polling site saw a steady stream of voters Monday morning, with several people standing outside waving signs mainly for Democratic candidates, though some were holding signs for Libertarians and Republicans too.

Voters who spoke with the Arkansas Advocate indicated their votes were to oppose incumbents such as Cotton and Hill.

Sarah King of Little Rock said she voted for Shoffner and Jones because she believed they have morals that their opponents do not.

“I just think we have an administration right now that is not kind, is not worried about human rights,” King said.

She said she was opposed to Flock cameras that have popped up all over the state, and was particularly concerned about how immigrants have been treated under the Trump administration.

“These are my neighbors and this is my community,” King said. “I have a son, and I want him to know also that I didn’t support this.”

Retired teacher says accountability a concern

Faye Hanson, a retired teacher from North Little Rock who has traditionally supported Democrats, said her biggest concern while researching candidates was accountability. She said Cotton and Hill don’t meet enough with their constituents.

“They’re not doing the work for us, and they’re getting paid a lot of money and have great healthcare and they’re voting against our interests,” Hanson said. “I think a lot of our public servants at all levels have forgotten who they work for.”

Hanson also said she opposed all four ballot measures Arkansans will decide on. The lack of a process for creating the economic development districts proposed in Issue 3 were concerning for her because she doesn’t “trust the people in power right now to use our money wisely.” She said she couldn’t support Issue 4 either, which would allow the state to issue up to half a billion dollars worth of bonds for water and wastewater infrastructure.

Jessica Roberts declined to say who she voted for, but said in general that the people already in office at all levels — local, state and federal — weren’t following through on the promises they made on the campaign trail. Roberts cited gun violence as a concern in the area.

“Some people that we already have in there, they say that they are gonna do this for the kids and do that for the kids, and we don’t see none of that,” Roberts said. 

This story will be updated.