SECRETARY DANIELS PROVIDES PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY UPDATE IN WAKE OF DEADLY STORMS
Tuesday, Feb 5, 2008
(LITTLE ROCK, ARK.)—Secretary of State Charlie Daniels tonight expressed his condolences to the families of those lost in today’s deadly storms and provided an update on the response of state and local election officials as they were conducting Arkansas’s 2008 Presidential Preferential Primary.
The following is Secretary Daniels statement in its entirety:
“The number one concern we have as Arkansans is the safety of our families, friends, and neighbors as deadly tornadoes ripped through our state this Election Day. Voting steadily took place today without issue at polling locations around the state until we began experiencing severe weather statewide in the late afternoon hours.
'As election officials monitored the severe weather situation, some polling locations were advised to close or temporarily suspend voting in order to take appropriate precautions. Those officials were advised to secure machines and ballots and seek cover from approaching storms.
'While we are certainly concerned about the delay in reporting full election results for the state, our first thoughts are with the families of those who lost loved ones or experienced injuries during the terrible storms today. As we assess the extent of damage to our state and an estimated time for restoration of utilities, we will have a fuller picture of the official vote count for Arkansas.”
As of this evening, nine counties are unable to tabulate their results as a result of the storms. They are Craighead, Crittenden, Cross, Izard, Jackson, Pope, Sharp, Stone, and Van Buren.
With 61 counties reporting early vote totals to the state, the preliminary number of early votes cast in this election is 62,000. Of those, approximately 39,000 are Democratic, 20,000 are Republican, and 60 are Green. Counties are also reporting around 9,500 absentee ballot requests.
In 2004, 335,016 voters or 22% of all registered voters turned out in the statewide Preferential Primary Election. Around 50,000 of them voted early and 9,000 voted absentee. In the 2000 Preferential Primary Election, 291, 473 voters turned out with around 28,000 of them voting early and 8,000 voting absentee.
Preliminary and unofficial election results can be found at www.arelections.org.
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Contact: Natasha Naragon
Phone: (501) 683-1441
Email: natasha.naragon@sos.arkansas.gov
Arkansas Secretary of State Charlie Daniels
256 State Capitol Building
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Phone: (501) 682-1010
Website: www.sos.ar.gov
Email: arsos@sos.ar.gov
