Hello everyone, and welcome to Arkansas Week I'm Chris Cain.

Election day is getting closer, and county election officials across Arkansas are preparing for everything from early voting and absentee ballots to polling places, voter identification and, of course, election security.

This week, we're taking a look at how that process works, what safeguards are in place, and what voters need to know before they cast a ballot.

Later in the program, we'll talk about a new effort aimed at helping first time and newly registered voters feel more confident about the process.

But first joining us are two county clerk's who are on the front lines of election preparation across the state.

Terry Hollingsworth with the Pulaski Circuit County clerk.

And Betsy Harrell is the Benton County clerk.

We welcome you both in virtually because we know how busy you both are.

And thank you so much for taking time out.

Terry, we'll start with you.

I just want to talk about something that is on the mind of many, and you hear it a lot these days.

Election integrity.

What that means.

And from a county clerk's perspective, what does election integrity mean in practice?

Well, Chris, thank you for having me.

And I will tell you that, of course, electronic election integrity means via our election law that folks are doing investigations of elections and looking at the security of our elections.

But I want you to know, and I want the viewers out there to know, that county clerk's and election coordinators around this state take this job very seriously.

And so that means in real time that, our office has different checks and balances.

That means that we have defined roles.

That means that we make sure that folks have the right to be in the software, and to be able to move around to look at our voter registration data.

Now, Betsy, I'll go to you.

This is, as I mentioned, a busy time for both of you and for all election officials across the state.

Take us behind the scenes a little bit.

Right now, what is happening at a county clerk's office in these weeks leading up that your average voter probably doesn't know what's all going into the preparation that's happening right now?

Sure.

Yesterday was the voter registration deadline for the November election, so we had a pretty busy day yesterday with last minute people getting in their registrations.

So we'll be getting those input.

We expect another big batch probably coming to us from the Secretary of State's office, and we'll get those input.

We have to have our roles updated and accurate as possible by October 19th.

That's when our early voting will start.

And those poll books will will be live.

So we have to have that data all input.

We've been distributing absentee ballots since September 19th or so.

We've got about a thousand out now.

And those applications requests are continuing to come in.

We then when we get those ballots back, we have to log that once more.

Interest with the upcoming election gets more, attention.

We have a lot of phone calls, people wanting to know if they're registered, where they're supposed to go vote.

Things like that.

So we're just really busy trying to get them to the right resources, sending them to the voter view website, and explaining the process of a lot of people come here from out of state and think, you know, where do I have to go vote?

Benton County is a vote center County, so we don't have specific assigned polling places, and we just are really trying to get that information out to the public.

So we're just doing a lot of communications right now.

Hey, Terry, back to you.

Voter ID and just in general, really one of the core questions around, you know, what folks need to bring with them to the polls.

So can you share with our viewers what type of identification is acceptable and what can they bring to be able to vote?

Of course, the ID that's acceptable is the Arkansas state issued ID, but of course you can use your U.S.

passport, you can use your military ID, they can use an employee badge from, say, you arms or say you a little rock or you a at Arkansas and Fayetteville, you know, and then if they have a voter identification card, they can use that.

And of course, if they have a public assistance photo ID, they can use that as well, not just a driver's license, which many associate with some form of identification, but a lot of different forms of ID are actually acceptable here.

Is that correct?

That is correct.

Fantastic.

Betsy, back over to you.

If someone gets to the polls, let's say there's an issue with their ID or something about their registration doesn't exactly match what would happen next.

What is the process look like for them, or are they still able to cast a ballot if certain if certain measures are made, or if certain requirements are met, even if they have an issue on paper?

The, the process will be for the poll worker to call the county clerk's office to try to verify their registration.

If they still cannot be located, the, the process will be for them to vote a provisional ballot.

A lot of issues can be corrected at that time, and they'll simply vote a regular ballot.

But if we've tried everything and we can't locate them in the poll books or there's some other issue, everyone has the right to vote a provisional ballot.

They'll receive instructions as to how to process that and when those provisional ballots will be reviewed.

But it's very important.

Never, ever, ever leave a polling site without voting a provisional ballot.

No one should ever leave a polling site without voting one way or the other.

And would that be something that you talked about when it would be tallied up?

Is that done?

So is there a certain required amount of time just to keep up with election results and the expectations of those?

So if the issue is because they didn't provide a photo ID, those people will vote a provisional ballot.

They actually will have until Monday following the election to provide that ID and then at a later date, the Election Commission will review all of the provisional ballots in the various reasons why they were provisional, and then they will make the determination as to whether the ballot will be counted.

But voting a provisional ballot, if there's some issue that we just can't figure out on Election Day, that just gives us a few extra days to continue to search for that voter in the database or determine why they weren't in the poll books.

Back over to you, Terry.

There are several ways to vote now.

We went over a few of them are voting, election day voting, absentee voting for those who qualify.

And from the election security standpoint that you touched on when we first started, how are these different methods handled and how does your office help make sure that they go smoothly and as efficiently as possible when you have these different methods coming in at once?

So certainly every county is a little different.

Pulaski County has an election coordinator.

And of course, there's the clerk's office.

So in the clerk's office, we housed the voter data in terms of your name and all that good stuff.

And then we do the absentee ballots.

And so the Election Commission and with the election coordinator, they do a election day voting and also early voting.

So but let me give you an example.

For yesterday we had some absentee ballots that came in.

And so then there's a sign in sheet when for the folks who have to actually take those into where we keep those in a safe of safe ballot box, and it's two people have to go together.

They have to write their name down so that when they drop them in this particular ballot box or ballot keeper, if you will, then, you know, we know who has put those in there and we know who's checked in and checked out of our ballot room.

And so then when the Election Commission comes over to get those ballots, then there's still checks and balances and they have to sign in and sign out.

So we we put those measures in place to make sure that we can follow and track and make sure that, you know, those are safe and secure.

And so certainly with the, with the votes and the poll books, those are locked up every day during a, you know, early voting.

And then on Election day, of course, everything comes back to, the Election Commission.

Betsy, back over to you.

You know, absentee ballots, as Terry just mentioned, they do get a lot of attention in the news cycle these days.

So and as she also mentioned, it's different county by county.

So what do you all do up in Benton County to ensure that these absentee ballots are secured and also ultimately voted in a timely fashion or tallied in a timely fashion?

Well, mainly we just follow the state laws, and it's very specifically spelled out how absentee ballots are to be handled.

You know, we don't do mass mail outs like some states do.

H s and T ballot is requested by a voter.

We verify that voter signature with the signature that's on the application.

Then there's a chain of custody any time of ballots handled by a voter or someone who's bringing it back for them, they have to sign a roster.

We check photo ID of anybody that comes in to bring an absentee ballot back.

This is, you know, ballots that are not coming back by mail.

Then the Election Commission will get a copy of that application.

They will again check the signature on that application with the signature that's on the voter statement that comes back with the ballot.

As are also required to provide a photocopy of their ID that is also returned with the ballot.

So and then we will turn those ballots over at, at the appropriate time to the election commission.

They will come.

We have a list of what they are picking up and where they are taking it, and they have to sign a form for it also.

And then the Election Commission will open those ballots, not the ballots, but they'll open the envelopes, determine if everything is correct in that return envelope, and then separate the ballot out, the ones that can be counted, so that there's privacy for the voters so they can associate the ballot with all of that information, personal information that the voter has sent back.

So I think our system and Arkansas, I think if the whole country followed it, people would be a lot happier and comfortable with the absentee process.

Terry, I want to talk about the voting machines and the equipment.

How is that tested?

How is it checked out before it's all placed out in all the different polling locations to ensure that it's all working properly.

So.

So that the testing of our equipment is, is of course spelled out in law as well.

And so that's done in least 30 days before the actual election, and it's done by the Election Commission.

So, certainly, as I told you, in our county, the Election Commission puts on Election Day and early voting.

So they test the equipment and then they post the results.

And so anybody is able to see those results as it relates to our machines as well.

Betsy, some people can assume that a county clerk controls every part of an election.

Can you kind of talk us through, you know, the team you have there at Benton County and how you all coordinate and work together to ensure that the process goes smoothly?

Well, as Terry mentioned, there are 75 counties and there are probably 75 breakdowns of duties.

Our two counties are particularly, you know, larger.

So we have a more dedicated staff on election commissions.

I also have an election coordinator that works for the Election Commission in smaller counties.

It's it's mostly the county clerk, and she could be doing or he could be doing everything from testing equipment, setting up equipment, handling early, voting in her office and then taking care of the results.

So it just depends on the size of the county, how things are separated out.

I have staff that I have provided to the Election Commission.

They are full time.

They, you know, handle the equipment, they handle poll worker recruitment and training and, setting up the polling sites, finding the polling sites.

That's a full time job.

When people say, what are what are the election people do in the off year when you're not having elections?

Well, you're out beating the bushes for polling sites.

And how are those selected?

What what are some of the criteria you all look for to select polling sites?

Betsy.

Well, there's some specific requirements.

They have to be a day accessible.

They have to have, you know, parking.

They have to be secure because, during early voting specifically, especially our equipment is there overnight.

So there has to be a separate room where that can be secured.

And, basically we have to find people who are willing to host us because we are invading their space for either a two week period, if it's an early voting site or a 14 hour day by the time set up and breakdown has occurred, and, you know, more and more people are reluctant to make that sacrifice.

And, sometimes they just don't want to be the site of some of the things that go on with elections.

So, it's, it's becoming more and more challenging.

But again, that's what our staff does when it's not election time.

They're they're out beating the bushes, they're scouting.

They're looking around trying to find a good spot.

Yes.

Hey, Terry, can you tell us about any changes in election rules, policies, procedures, anything voters need to be aware of before heading to the polls from the last election cycle?

Well, one of the rules that voters need to be aware of, especially if they're doing the absentee voting, is that on their instructions?

If, let's say it's somebody who's by themselves and they really don't know their neighbors, but on their voter statement, they actually have.

And here's our voter statement.

We have it in yellow, but they actually have to find a witness to says that they filled it out by themselves.

And so that can be a very for some of the folks who are out there voting by absentee voting.

But that's one of the new rules.

That's that the legislature, applied.

Okay.

That's very important to know.

And when did absentee ballots go out?

Terry, what was some of the have they already been sent out if requested?

Yes.

They've already been sent out.

Matter of fact, of course, our overseas ones were sent out at least two weeks ago.

And now we're starting to get more and more of just our, you know, citizens, regular citizens or voters asking for their absentee ballot.

Betsy, what about poll workers or volunteers?

How are they trained to deal with the variety of questions that they're going to field, or any of these situations?

We've talked about where they have to assist folks if there are some paperwork issues that they have to sort through, what are some of the training methods that they do?

Probably what a lot of people are not aware of to be a poll worker in Arkansas, you have to go through a an extensive full day training.

Then you are tested on that information.

You have to get a passing grade on that test in order to be a poll worker.

Our poll workers are also part of that.

Training is just basic de-escalation, like like you would in any public setting.

They can usually they have the knowledge to ask, to answer some of the most frequently asked questions, which are some things that get people upset.

They just don't understand the process.

And so sometimes it's a real simple answer.

And then beyond that, there's a supervisor at every polling site that can answer questions.

Sometimes it's just, you know, get another person in there to, to help, you know, answer something that maybe they just don't understand.

Sometimes it's disagreement with the state law.

And, you know, we tell them to contact their legislators.

Then any other complaint will go to the election commission.

Beyond that, there are forms available at the polling sites, and there are instructions at the polling sites.

You know who to call if they see something, they just, you know, can't, can't be comforted enough about.

So, our voters always have the right to ask questions, give us feedback, make complaints.

And we all we always take those very seriously.

So and Betsy is sticking with you for just a minute.

When the polls do close on Election Day, what happens to the ballots?

And the results.

What's that process like of of taking all the information and then breaking it all down?

After the polls close at 730, or when the last person in line at 730 has voted?

Our poll workers close things up.

They will load up the ballots and the memory stick that has counted those votes throughout the day, two poll workers are required to return that material back to the election commission.

Everything is in a container with a numbered seal.

Those numbers are on a spreadsheet that has been signed by the poll workers.

It is very, very, very secure.

Once they return to the Election Commission and turn that material over to the Election Commission staff, each memory stick from each polling site goes into a laptop that is not, nor has never been connected to any internet connection.

Those results are downloaded and once that they are totaled, a a thumb drive is removed from that laptop and those results are encrypted.

And then we upload those to the Secretary of State's office.

We do not send them off to New York to be counted.

And they cannot be changed in any way.

It's it's an encrypted data.

So once it leaves that non connected laptop, it cannot be changed.

Once again, we had our poll workers on the back and thanked them profusely and send them home.

One stay on that for just a moment with you Terry as well.

Just about the non connectivity and really explain that to our viewers.

These devices these these voting machines are not connected correct.

They are they take they are not connected to the internet.

So we want all Arkansans to know that their elections are safe and secure.

So they're not connected to the internet.

And that's a great thing.

So not connect to the internet.

It is counted through a thumb drive and also on the spreadsheet, which are, as Betsy just mentioned, encrypted.

So cannot be changed.

I just think that, you know, with a lot of the things you can see online and some of that you just want to make sure you get across the viewers, not connect to the internet spreadsheet.

That can't be changed.

Encrypted data on a thumb drive that has to go directly to where, again, the secretary of State's office.

Yes.

And we also published on our website okay as well.

Okay.

Fantastic.

The ballots, the ballots themselves, the paper ballots are kept in in in locked, sealed tubs.

Those are also returned to the election commission.

They are there as backup.

If there's ever any question or someone wants a recount, we have the paper record of the votes that were cast.

Another thing I wanted to ask about is and touched on it a little bit, but the poll workers who are there are required to be on lookout for anyone who may be in line at 730.

Terry, do you have.

Is there someone designated each side to make sure whoever's in line at 730 can keep their place, and and they have that clear line of time demarcation, if you will, of, hey, this is the person who is in line.

So they absolutely get to cast their ballot.

Yes, absolutely.

And they are standing in line and they usually have a sign that says end of line, so that they're there at 730 to make sure that everybody who is there at 730 can vote.

But anybody that comes at 731, of course, they don't get that chance.

All right.

Got to talk to you just both briefly about what to do about misinformation.

And you both clearly have been fielding some questions that I could tell you wanted to get across, not connect to the internet.

Encrypted devices.

How do you share information with folks who are asking questions about different things that they've heard or seen or read that may not be correct, and you want to make sure you get that across.

And how do you train some of your poll workers to also be able to share that information, to provide the facts to individuals out there who have maybe legitimate questions about security and election integrity, and how do you share that with them?

I'll start with you, Betsy, up in Benton County.

Well, pretty much what Terry and I have been sharing, keeping very simple answers, just repeating the facts.

At some point you'd kind of just have to back off.

You don't want to get into an altercation.

We use social media.

We?

This program, I hope will we'll go a long way.

And, we just try to stay consistent and comforting and, you know, being respectful.

Sometimes people just want to be heard.

And usually when they hear facts like Terry and I have just shared, most people accept that and realize, oh, I saw, you know, something on Facebook.

And we're like, that's not true.

That's not how we do it here.

So and Terry, I know how important it is to also train your poll workers to be able to share that, because they're the ones who are on site and interacting with voters from all across the state, in your county, in particular in Pulaski County.

And they are.

And so when we're training them, We're definitely trying to let them know that any misinformation that vote, they should tell voters to look at their county clerk's website, who's your trusted messenger to call your county clerk's office, and they need it.

So that way that voters can be, secure and feel that we're giving them the right information.

And of course, it's all voter education.

And here in Pulaski County, we certainly try to educate our voters all the time about misinformation, about security, about everything as it relates to how to vote and all those good things.

And, Terry, if someone who is a voter or viewer watching this right now see something that they have questions about at a polling site, what's their best avenue to be able to report that if they're suspicious about anything, well, they should first.

That holding location and then that election judge will go from there.

Because if it's something where the police needs to be called, then that election judge at that location or the chief judge will be the one that would call the police and that kind of thing.

Betsy, you mentioned a moment ago just how your department, your team, is a little bit bigger because the size of your county, Terry I'm sure yours is as well.

You both operate in two of the larger counties in the state in terms of population and the growth, of course, in Benton County.

So what are some of the unique challenges that come along with that, especially Betsy, let's start with you.

In an area that's growing.

We've got a lot of people moving in from out of state.

How do you help them navigate the changes that they're going through?

And they're voting in new places for the first time?

Well, as as we mentioned earlier, our biggest challenge is finding additional polling sites.

We're we have just topped 200,000 registered voters in Benton County, which fits us just behind Pulaski, about 40,000.

So I'm coming after you, Terry.

We, We try to get information out on social media as much as possible.

Benton County is blessed to have a really good communications director, and she will blast something out for us just anytime we need it.

The the best source is call your local clerk before you go to your Facebook resource.

Call your local officials.

Those are your friends and neighbors, and we are very invested in giving the best voting experience that we can.

No one is getting rich by being a poll worker.

So this is your community members that are conducting your elections.

And so we just try to encourage that kind of engagement.

Terry, Betsy makes a good point there.

I at my polling location, I think I've seen the same workers for several years.

Do you have a lot of retention on poll workers that come back and and participate regularly now?

And it's something that they are, you know, they're part of your team, even if they're somewhat seasonal, so to speak.

They are part of the team.

And yes, they love it.

So they come back year after year.

So but we have this and new ones.

But yes, certainly we, we have our old faithfulness.

And what about anyone watching right now who would like to be a poll worker?

I, you know, this second week of October, I'm not sure if it's still open.

What can you tell us if they want, if it's not open now to join for this election cycle, what would be the process for the next one?

Well, in Pulaski County, of course, we have who we need right now, but you can certainly go to the Election Pulaski Election Commission's website and sign up to be a future poll worker if one would like.

And I'm sure in every county it's going to be different, whether you contact the Election Commission or whether you can actually contact the county clerk.

So make sure you look at both websites.

And, Betsy, you mentioned polling locations can be challenging to find if maybe there's someone watching this right now who feels like they have a good polling location.

What's the best way to get in contact?

To let you all know that you're welcome to come and scout their place?

The Election Commission, they should contact our Election Commission.

They they are in charge of that portion of the process.

And I'll leave you both this final opportunity.

Betsy, what would you like to get across to folks?

What's the message you want to share with them before election season and now that it's officially kicked off?

But I say before Election Day, what message would you like to share with them?

Have a plan.

Look, you know, plan for it.

Look ahead.

I just want to a voter view, voter view, voter view, Google voter view.

Arkansas.

You're going to find your sample ballot.

So you will know everything that you're going to be looking at when you get to the polling site.

All of our polling locations for early voting and Election Day voting are there, all of the times that they're going to be open, the days there will be open the, the, the map, the address for all of those.

Check your registration, make sure your address is updated.

All of that information is on the Voter View website.

And if you have any questions, please call us.

We we want to talk to you before you get to a polling side and, and are confused or don't understand how something is being done.

You know, that's that's what we're here for.

We're elected officials.

We are here to serve the people.

So please ask us questions if if you have any.

All right.

She covered a lot of ground there, Terry.

Anything to add to that before we go?

Betsy definitely covered a lot of ground.

And and I will definitely emphasize the same things both of you voted you vote of.

You have a plan.

And what you need to include in your plan is make sure you have your photo ID with you.

And guess what?

When you go to vote of you and you get that sample ballot, you can download that ballot and you can mark it up the way you want and take it into the polls with you.

So have a great plan.

Study those candidates, study those issues and make sure you're ready on Election Day.

She is Terry Hollingsworth, the Pulaski Circuit County clerk, and Betsy Harrell, the Benton County clerk.

Thank you both for your time today.

Happy election season and hope it all goes smoothly for you both.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Thank you.

All right.

We're back with more after this.

Stay with us.

Welcome back to Arkansas Week.

I'm Chris Cain.

With the general election getting closer.

Thousands of newly registered Arkansans are preparing to vote, some for the first time.

But registering is only part of the process for a newer voter.

Even basic questions about where to go.

What to bring?

What will be on the ballot, or what to expect at the polling place can become a challenge.

So the Arkansas Civic Action Network has launched a new nonpartisan campaign called Confident Voter, aimed at helping people work through those questions and feel more prepared as they cast their ballot.

Joining us today is Blake Tierney, director of community power and engagement for the Arkansas Civic Action Network.

And Blake, thanks for being here.

Always great to have you guys on.

This is something that is timely.

Obviously with the election coming up, we see the signs.

We see the advertisements.

So elections are on the minds of many right now.

So we had Doctor Gail Choate on the program to talk about the civic and political engagement a little more broadly, but I want to talk about the Confident voter campaign you guys are launching today, because it's more on the practical side of voting.

What did you learn that made you all think this is something that could be needed for those out there?

Yeah.

Thank you again for having us, Chris.

It's always a great time being here.

So we learned that, like you said, registration is only part of the story.

People don't want to show up to something when they don't know what to expect, when they don't feel prepared, and when they don't feel like it matters.

And so those three things are all key to being a confident voter.

And we've seen it through the data that, you know, registration does not mean that they actually do show up to the polls.

It's it's good that registration gets you there partly, but it doesn't finish the story.

And we see that maybe like half or or so actually show up.

Okay.

Once you've if you're newly registered.

So we know that giving them the tools and resources and the knowledge to build that confidence will get them to the polls and then help them be ready to be engaged beyond the polls.

So registration is passed.

Let's talk about people who get stuck in that.

Let's say they have registered already.

So they're now at that point.

What are some of the the reasons people get stuck?

Is it cautious about something they haven't done before, especially newer voters, or is it something where people of course have a lot going on these days?

They are going from A to B to C trying to just get through their day.

Voting hours are limited now.

You can get in line, obviously, and they'll hold that for you.

But what are some of the things that you all here as far as feedback goes about what gets people not to that finish line, and how do you get them to the finish line?

Yeah, yeah.

It's multifaceted.

So everything you just touched on is part of the story.

But the biggest things are we broke it down into five different pieces that if you go to our website Arc Action Net Confident, it can walk you through some of your biggest questions when it comes to what to expect at the polls and how to be ready to be a confident voter.

But some of those big things are, of course, being election ready.

So the registration and all of that and knowing what you need to be doing and what the dates are, but then knowing your ballot, that's a huge one.

There are a lot of things on the ballot that are really confusing.

There's weird names like what is a justice of the peace?

Does a county judge actually need to be a lawyer who's a constable?

The issues, by the way, the valid issue, the ballot issues, which I don't know what could be done about this.

The text on those is in a block that is pretty very small, and there's a lot of language in a very small space that people are trying to read through.

So not just the mechanical act of reading them, but also understanding what they mean.

Yes, yes, because they're supposed to be clear and straightforward, but they aren't always.

There's still a lot of language in there that doesn't maybe translate to where we are in our reading level or, or something like that.

So we know that that's part of it.

But of course, making a voting plan, like you said, having the limited time on Election Day can be a limitation for people, which gratefully, we have early voting here, which includes Saturdays, which a lot of people don't always know.

And so people at work during the workweek, you know, Saturdays are a great option.

Tell them now, Saturdays, folks, Saturdays are a great option for voting for early voting, but now early voting.

It should be noted those locations are limited, you know, so it's not like Election Day where we have widespread, but it is listed on.

I'm sure you guys have all the voting locations and the resources, right?

Yes.

Yeah.

And the good thing about early voting across the state is you're not limited to where you vote, okay.

And so if there's a polling place that's closer to where you work or closer to your, you know, daycare or your, your church or whatever it might be, whatever kids practice that you have to drop them off, that you can go vote their practice.

Yeah.

Okay.

That's fantastic.

Great use of time.

Yeah, exactly.

And so early voting is great with that flexibility for people and introducing people to that concept.

And what those details are are important.

So those are the big things.

And then of course knowing you're right.

So it can be scary to go to the polls a because you might be embarrassed because you don't know everything or you don't know what to expect.

If you get there and it's close to closing time and you're like, oh, they're going to close on me.

But it's like, no, you have a right to stay in line.

If you're in line before the polls closed, you can stay in line and you have the right to vote.

They can't tell you to leave.

Okay.

And so that, like, things like that help people understand and take remove the barrier that either they thought was there or that, that they're just scared about.

Sure.

In a lot of ways.

Uneasy.

Right.

Because they have not done it before.

And if you haven't done something before in anything, right, you could be a little uneasy and cautious going into it.

All right.

Let's talk about some of the election information, which you all are trying to do in terms of being a nonpartisan group that is trying to just help provide resources.

And in this day and age, when people look for information, you know, they can be found in a lot of places.

I mean, you go through online and the digital world has a myriad of different outlets to find information about what candidates are for or against, right, or what issues mean or what they don't.

But it is overwhelming at times when you talk about the text messages, the social media messages, the campaigns, we're beyond just signs and yards and advertisements on TV.

Now, how do you help voters or what do you all share with them to help them navigate that?

How do they sort through all the massive loads of information that are coming at them from all different directions?

Exactly.

That's a great point.

And again, our website, Arc Action Net Confidant, is a way to get those questions answered because we have in there the places to go.

So it it breaks it down into what to do, the important things to know in very short bullets and then your actions to take which links you out to the places where you can find the best information.

But we like to say that your best friend, your bestie in the election season are two places your voter view, which is provided by the Arkansas Secretary of State's office, where you can check your registration, you can find your polling places, you can find your sample ballots.

You can see what you're voting for.

You can read all the text for the ballot measures beforehand on large screen, on large screen.

You're not trying to read something.

That is I mean, it's microscopic on the ballot.

Yeah, it's very small.

And you can also print off your sample ballot and take it with you to the polls.

That's good to know.

So Voter View is one of your best friends.

And then your other best friend is your county clerk.

They are the ones that help get everything set up.

They know they are the ones who receive your registration, but they're also the ones that help you get a printed sample ballot if you need that.

If you don't have one of the many valid photo IDs that are allowed, something that's underutilized in the state is you can request a voter verification card from your county clerk's office for free.

Okay, some Doctor Cho talked about when she was on last time with with Steve Barnes, and I just wanted to touch on that for just a moment because she had brought up, you know, that's a hot debated topic.

It is required in Arkansas for voting.

So you can go to your county clerk's office.

What's the step by step process on that for folks?

Because she had talked about accessibility to that.

Right.

It's going to be some of the one of the challenges for some folks out there may not have some data to be able to show to get that county ID, but if you're going to your local county office, typically these are your friends and neighbors.

This is your community, your local office.

It's not the state capital office.

So what does that process look like to obtain one of those cards?

Yeah.

The best thing I can tell you is, is to call your county clerk's office for the required information you would need to bring.

Okay.

Exactly, exactly.

There there's an application.

There are things that you need to fill out, but your county clerk is going to be your best resource for answering those questions.

And then they can also help you with other resources pointing you in the right direction of maybe you have an ID that actually does qualify and you don't know it.

Like, we can use our concealed carry gun license in the state of Arkansas.

If you go to Arkansas University, you can use your student ID there's a there's a whole list that we can just not just the driver's license.

Exactly.

Interesting part of this campaign.

I saw something about postcards.

Yes.

Tell me about the use of postcards.

How many are sending out and kind of the the reasoning behind this.

What's the goal here?

Yeah.

So we we sent about 11,000 postcards across the state.

Wow.

We identified five counties where we were partnering with the League of Women Voters of Arkansas.

And a couple of days keep ACP chapters to do these voter confidence workshops, confident voter workshops.

And we identified these because we were comparing things on their registration.

How many, how much of those are grown over the years?

How much, how many people signed petitions back in 2024?

How many people canvased.

What's the turnout for various elections?

We took all of this and we we saw that on different indices, different scores.

There was a a breadth of of differences between these counties.

And we wanted to have geographic representation.

So we wanted to hit across the state and not in your usual that get all the attention such as plasticky and bitten and Washington counties.

Okay.

We wanted to hit places, so we hit all the newly registered voters as of January 1st through September 1st in Arkansas, in Craighead County, Carroll County, Drew County, Sebastian County, and Garland County.

And so we hit all the voters there, and we also hit all of the newly registered voters since January 1st to September 1st, who were going to be under the age of 23 by Election day.

Because we know this is a population that doesn't always get the resources they need, especially like you said, which leads to lower turn out.

Exactly.

They're the first.

This is maybe their first election.

And we've already talked about they may be uneasy about going to the polls.

And so we wanted to send in this postcard.

It's a very in line with our spirit as an organization, very joyful and very colorful and vibrant and just to the front, just as welcome civic life.

And it's a, a a picture of, I think it's a peak.

Yeah, yeah.

And it's.

Yes, yes, yes.

And it's.

Yeah, it's it's a hand drawn.

And so there's, there's something personal about that.

Something personal.

Exactly.

You're not.

And they're very digital.

I mean you're going to under 23.

They're living on, you know, all the digital platforms possible.

So you kind of go you're going against the grain here by saying, no, we want to send you something that is hand-drawn and something that feels more like, hey, we're trying to connect with you in a way that is old school for a new generation of voters.

Yeah.

Okay.

Interesting.

What's the feedback been so far on that?

It's been pretty good so far.

We we're looking we're the postcards hit the mailboxes I'd say early early last week in the end of the week before.

And we have seen several hits on our website.

That's kind of how we're tracking one of the measures that we want to say, okay, this is one thing that we can track to say, okay, people have come to our website because this postcard, does that translate then to turnout in the polls.

So they're following up.

So they're following up okay.

And we we look forward to seeing them hopefully at our workshops.

Because that's also what we were pointing them towards is going to that confident voter web page and then to our workshops.

And through all of that we we want to see, okay, is this going to work?

Is this going to draw them to the polls and answer those questions for them?

Tell me about the workshops.

What do those entail?

What are the goals that you hope you know it achieves for when folks walk out of there?

What do you want them to know?

Yeah, so we want them to know those those five big things that I talked about.

But the biggest thing, you know, it changes as we as we get closer to the election.

You know, we're we're not talking about registration anymore because of the past.

We still want people to check their registration before they go, before they get to make sure that they did the right thing.

You don't want to show up and have that awkward moment where they say you're not registered.

Yes.

So that's that's a good point.

Yes.

Check, check.

Before you again before you go.

And then, so making sure they know which IDs to bring, knowing that they can find their sample ballot, helping them make a voting plan.

We have voting cards that they can write down the where and the win.

Of course, we hope people also, we want people to choose a day.

We want them to choose a day at a time, put it in their calendars, have a backup plan, know how they're getting there because you never know what could happen in terms of your car breaking down, getting sick, you know, having the weather.

Yeah.

The weather.

If you're standing in a line, bring an umbrella.

If it's raining.

Yes.

We tell them that early voting yes can avoid some of those on Election day.

So it sounds like this is a great opportunity to basically get the answers before the test.

You want to go into the voting booth, or table where you're not thinking about it, right?

You the decision has been made and you're going in with a course of action that you essentially are just repeating what you hopefully have already done in one of your workshops.

Okay.

Fantastic.

Yeah.

New voters, I assume, have a lot of questions.

What are some of the common questions that you guys receive, and how do you help them answer that so that they feel comfortable before they go to the polls?

Yeah, for sure.

There's a most of the questions are really about the ballot.

That's what I found each like per year.

Are you talking about like each candidate.

Are they about the ballot?

Who's currently represented on the ballot or just the ballot itself?

The ballot itself.

So the ballot issues are a big one.

Yes, there's a lot of confusion around that.

So we like to point people to the University of Arkansas Extension Office, their public policy office.

It has such a great resource in explaining what the ballot issues are in plain language, giving you what supporters say, what opponents say.

So you can you can read up and really be prepared.

But we talk about the issues, in those conversations, because we're in locations with people or online, we get the chance to have the specifics about what does this look like here at home for me so we can dig down into, okay, so I was just saying, Craighead County the other week and they were asking about their ballot issues, and they have two local issues that are on the ballot in Jonesboro once the city and one for the county.

And so we got to talk about that as a group.

We also talked about, voting rights and what to do about if there's intimidation, if somebody comes up to you.

So we have their poll watchers at the polls who can challenge whether or not you can vote.

And that can be scary.

Who are these people?

Why are they looking at me?

Why are they watching me?

So we explain what they are, but we also explain that they have rules they have to follow.

And just because you get challenged doesn't mean you can't vote.

You can still vote a provisional ballot.

So we talk about that together.

That's another big one.

And the other is is really it comes back to early voting is what okay.

Well where is this what is available.

You know, again, Craig County, we were just there.

And Craighead County has voting centers on Election day.

So unlike in some countries like Pulaski County, you where you have to be at a polling place that is assigned to your precinct where your address is, places like Craighead County have voting centers on Election day.

Basically, it operates like early voting.

Go anywhere.

Wow.

So it varies by county, it by county.

And knowing that is beneficial.

Exactly.

Yes.

You won't know that unless you go and learn what you guys are talking about.

How do you keep everything in a, in a world these days where it feels like everything is Partizan, this coffee cup could be Partizan.

I mean, it doesn't matter.

Exactly.

And everything can be politicized.

How do you all tote the line of nonpartisan and keep that trust amongst the folks that you talk to and provide these resources to?

What's that?

How does that play out for you all?

Yeah, that's a great question.

We first off we see that voting and our democracy is not Partizan.

And we know that if people are coming to us with questions that they want it answered, we don't care what party you are, we just want you to vote.

We just we don't care if you believe one way or another, we want you to vote.

And if we give you the tools to do that and then do your research, like we think that that's going to have huge impacts.

And so we we have the conversation with them.

We, we do have our opinions.

We don't we may even say, I have an opinion about this.

It may be different than yours, but that's okay.

We we want you to vote.

And that's the spirit that we come to it with.

And, and we've seen people that really take to that.

They, they leave knowing that we're partners in this together.

We've worked with people all across the political spectrum with Archon, and it's been great to see that.

Let's talk about if someone has moved, they changed their name.

They've gotten married.

Or simply maybe they haven't voted in a long time.

Maybe this isn't a first time vote, or maybe this is someone who has been around for a while, not voted, maybe moved to the state.

What are some of the different things that they need to be checking before Election Day, and what are some of the things they need to make sure they do or have have done already before they go to the polls?

Yeah for sure.

Registration is a big hangout for, for folks like that.

They.

Because Arkansas doesn't allow registration on election day or when you vote, you have to be registered at least 30 days beforehand.

That's a big one.

I know that that's already passed.

It's already passed.

And so we hope that again, check your registration.

So if you've just moved here, I hope that you have if you haven't voted in a while, I hope you checked because there are sometimes purges of the voter rolls.

Okay.

Non activity or inactivity will lead to that.

Okay.

Exactly.

And and so those are big places where that happens.

But other people that if you just move within your county or with from one place to another in the state, there particularly in the county, you can you can change your address at the polls.

That is allowed.

Now, I think that was recently changed with Arkansas law.

So you can make sighted one adjustment is a is available if there was if it wasn't made before registration.

Yes.

Okay.

Interesting.

And then for folks who have changed their name or you will have to show your photo ID, but they will be asking you what questions about what is on your voter registration for folks like me, I rent, and so I moved a lot.

And so I'm not going to change my driver's license every time.

But I do change it with the state.

They with the new electronic ID side, you can change it and they can they can update your your address for you on the back end.

But my as long as my voter registration and I can give them where my address is for voter registration, then I'm solid.

Same with your name.

As long as it matches what is on voter registration.

So as you hold these workshops in these communities around the state and you offer the online, obviously resources as well, you know, I know that information, the access to it is so key.

Right.

So what do you all continuing to do to provide that access with not only the workshops and the website, how you talked about being in the community?

I mean, not just holding workshops, but you're out in the community.

What are some of the different ways you all are trying to continue that engagement?

And in the digital world we live in today, make it more personal to where you feel like people can talk to a person, not an AI agent or some kind of auto voice recording they may get if they try to call a number.

Yes, exactly.

Yeah.

We, we've been on shows like yours.

We've, we've had, publications in statewide places, including ones that translate into different languages.

And so partnering with folks that speak the language of Arkansans is really helpful for that.

We we do our social media.

It's the same similar to how we do did our postcard vibrant, colorful, inviting, especially for more youthful audience or youthful at heart.

We want to bring people in with that, and to be informative to to place for as being trustworthy and nonpartisan.

And so we do have those conversations by going to different events, people ask us to help host candidate forums, which is another place where we really have to flex that nonpartisan muscle of we're not here to take a side on this.

We're here to help you get your questions answered by these candidates so you can make your best choice.

But through all of that, we've we've really built a network across the state of people that that support us and that that trust us and want us to come and give them that information and know that they can rely on us.

How would what would be something you all would look at and say, this program was successful if what what happened, what has to happen on Election day or leading up to what would be the metric you would use to to measure the success of this program?

Gosh, the best success is is the big goal, which is Arkansas would not be last in the country for voter turnout, and that is that currently that is currently the case.

So but but what can get us there?

What we hope to see, at least with this election, is that in these places where we have done workshops and sent postcards and with the populations that we've seen, we can compare to previous elections, we can compare counties to similar counties, and we can see that a different that turnout was a big key number of something is different here because of what we did.

Hopefully like hopefully it's statistically significant.

Yeah.

Right.

Good political scientists and social sciences and all that.

But seeing that difference is going to be important for us.

All right.

Remind everybody all the resources and how they can access them before Election Day.

Yes.

So go to arc action net slash confident that k a arc action actions.net/confident.

Gosh, I was in a county.

I was, it was basically like a spelling bee because I kept.

Right, right.

Keep repeating the letters.

The letters.

Yes.

But so arc action net confident.

And then your two best friends for election season.

Our voter view.

Just search Arkansas voter view on your browser and that should pull up and your county clerk.

So those two resources are your best friends and Secretary of state's office as well.

Yes.

Fantastic.

Blake Tierney, director of community power and engagement for the Arkansas Civic Action Network.

Blake, great having you in studio.

We appreciate all that.

You all do.

And we'll see after the election, maybe have a wrap up and see how everything looked.

I'm excited to do it.

Thanks, Chris.

Okay, fantastic.

Well, that is all the time we have for this week's edition of Arkansas.

We thank you so much for joining us.

And we'll see you next time.