Elections – Page 12 – Family Council

Family Council Estimates 1 in 5 Voters Saw Guide Ahead of Election

Nov 10, 2014JerryArkansas Voter's GuideArkansas Voter's Guide, Elections

Last Tuesday was historic for a number of reasons. Republicans practically swept the election at every level in Arkansas. That’s a first for our state.

Arkansas also saw record voter turnouts, at least for recent history. We said it would be impressive if 800,000 voters came to the polls this year. It is estimated that more than 850,000 voted in this election. That’s incredible for a midterm!

The election was unique both in voter turnout and election results, but it was also unique in this: Family Council distributed enough Arkansas Voter’s Guides to reach at least 1 out of every 5 voters–and maybe many more than that!

We distributed nearly 175,000 printed copies of the Arkansas Voter’s Guide, and more than 11,500 people visited our online version of the guide at www.ArkansasVotersGuide.com.

Assuming everyone who requested a guide or visited our website was a voter, we distributed enough voter’s guides in print and online to reach 22% of the people who voted last week.

Even if some of the people who looked at our guide decided not to vote, many copies of the printed guide went to couples or groups of people–such as Sunday school classes–which means they were shared and used by more than one person. I would estimate each printed copy of the guide we distributed was used by anywhere from 1 to 3 people, at least. That means that while we distributed enough copies of the Arkansas Voter’s Guide in print and online to reach 22% of the voters, many more probably saw a copy of our guide. It is possible that as many as one-quarter or more of voters put the Arkansas Voter’s Guide to use this year.

Hats off to everyone who helped make that happen! To the people who donated money to fund the Arkansas Voter’s Guide this year; everyone who ordered copies of the guide for their friends and neighbors; and all the folks who passed the guide out at work, at church, or wherever, thank you! You helped us serve the people of Arkansas in a very real way.

I hope you will continue to follow the work of Family Council in the days to come. We plan to have some exciting announcements between now and the end of the year, so stay tuned. And be sure to follow us online at www.FamilyCouncil.org, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Updated: When You Vote, Double-Check Your Ballot

Oct 30, 2014JerryElectionsElections

touch_screen_lg A few of you may have seen stories circulating late last week and this week about problems with electronic voting machines in Arkansas.

According to KARK news, at least one person who voted early reported that when she used the touchscreen voting machine to cast her ballot, the machine misread her vote; instead of marking the candidates she selected, the machine marked the candidates’ opponents. In this particular case, KARK writes, the woman voted for several Republicans, but the machine recorded the votes as being for Democrats.

According to election officials, electronic voting machines have to be calibrated in order for the touchscreens to work properly. As the machines are used over and over again, those calibrations can change and the machines begin to malfunction.

Review Your Vote Before Casting It

The lesson here is regardless of whether you are using a paper ballot or an electronic one, always review your ballot carefully before you submit your vote.

If you incorrectly mark a paper ballot, you should be allowed to get a new ballot from a poll worker. If you spot a mistake on an electronic ballot, you should be able to correct it before submitting your vote.

According to the Secretary of State’s website, electronic voting machines offer two ways to review your ballot before you submit it. The first is on a “Review” screen; when you are done marking candidates, you simply click “Review” and review your vote in much the same way you might review a purchase on a website before actually submitting your purchase.

The second is on a paper receipt to the left of the touchscreen. The electronic voting machine prints out a paper receipt with your votes recorded on it. When you review your votes on the screen, I would suggest also reviewing the paper receipt to make sure they both match with how you voted.

If you spot a mistake, follow the instructions on the screen to correct it or ask a poll worker for help. And after you’ve corrected your mistake, review your ballot again–just to make sure the machine accurately recorded your correction.

Conclusion

Reviewing your ballot is simply another part of voting responsibly. If you spot a problem with a ballot or if you think an electronic voting machine may be malfunctioning, notify a poll worker immediately.

Update: KATV reported last night that Pulaski County has received about a dozen of complaints of “vote flipping,” with votes cast for one candidate being recorded for the candidate’s opponent. Similar reports have come out of Lonoke County and Franklin County. Election officials are recalibrating voting machines daily and encouraging every voter who uses the machines to verify their ballot before submitting.

Don’t Let Election Day Sneak Up on You!

Oct 28, 2014JerryArkansas Voter's GuideArkansas Voter's Guide, Elections

Early voting is going on right now, and Election Day is just seven days away. Don’t let the elections sneak up on you!

Too many people wait until Election Day before trying to figure out who which candidates they will support. Part of casting an informed vote is knowing ahead of time who is running and where they stand on the issues.

We’ve talked a lot about the Arkansas Voter’s Guide this year. To date we have distributed roughly 160,000 printed copies of the guide–and we still have more printed copies available. To order your free, printed Arkansas Voter’s Guide, click here. You can order for yourself, your church, your Sunday school class, your friends, your family–whoever! But don’t wait too long to order, because Election Day is approaching quickly, and supplies are running out.

If you prefer to read the Arkansas Voter’s Guide online, the links below will take you directly to portions of the online guide.

I hope you will take advantage of the Arkansas Voter’s Guide, and I hope you will do your best to vote wisely in the upcoming election.