Jefferson County election officials spent Wednesday night reviewing 438 provisional ballots, one day after Election Day.
A provisional notice may be given at the poll site to a voter for reasons including failing to present either identification or a voter registration card and voting on a ballot unrelated to verification of the person’s registration to vote. Out of 37,053 people registered to vote in Jefferson County, 21,632 voted, according to Election Commissioner Sharon Hardin. That would mean 58.4% who registered turned in a ballot.
Among the 21,632 ballots, 12,063 were by early voting, 480 were by absentee and 9,089 were cast Tuesday.
Election officials needed 4 hours to sift through the provisional ballots and determine which ones would be counted. Tameka Reed, an election co-coordinator for the county, said of the 438 provisionals:
153 were from early voting, of which 134 were not counted due to either not being registered to vote or registering past the deadline to do so, 17 were counted and 2 can be cured with proper identification.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
33 were from absentee voting, of which 11 were not counted due to no/late registration, 9 were counted and 13 can be cured with proper ID.
252 were from Election Day, of which 190 were not counted due to no/late registration and 62 were counted.
For those who failed to show proof of identity or registration at the time of voting, an ID card may be presented to the county clerk or county Election Commission by noon Nov. 12 for the provisional ballot to be counted.
A hearing date for provisional ballots that are rejected will be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 15 at the Jefferson County Election Commission office at 123 Main St. in Pine Bluff. The commission will certify all election totals at this time to make the results official.
Election officials took just past midnight Wednesday, nearly 5 hours after polls were closed, to provide an unofficial total for all races in Jefferson County. Manual recounts had to be done after problems arose with some voting machines at several polling sites, Hardin said Tuesday.
The totals include early voting, absentee and results from all 33 polling sites before the provisional ballots were reviewed:
U.S. President
Kamala D. Harris/Tim Walz (D)12,741
Donald Trump/J.D. Vance (R)8,432
Robert F. Kennedy/Nicole Shanahan (Ind.)183
Chase Oliver/Mike ter Maat (Lib.)57
Jill Stein/Rudolph Ware (Green)35
Peter Sonski/Lauren Onak (ASP)35
Michael Wood/John G. Pietrowski (NAP)27
U.S. Congress District 4
Risie Howard (D)11,579
Bruce Westerman (R)9,124
State Treasurer
John Pagan (D)11,217
John Thurston (R)8,885
Michael Pakko (Lib.)765
State Senate District 1
Ben Gilmore (R)2,891
Asher Williams (Lib.)821
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Position 1
Rhonda Wood9,624
Karen Baker9,486
Justice of the Peace District 10
Conley Byrd (R)1,051
Na-Quishia Terrell (D)247
Justice of the Peace District 12
Ted Harden (R)876
Raymond Washington Sr. (D)414
Jefferson Township Constable
Bill Beadle (I)538
Scott Dunn (R)464
Humphrey City Council Ward 1 Position 1
Donald Combs57
Chris Potter36
Humphrey City Council Ward 2 Position 2
Jillian Bogy52
Jalicia Wyatt43
Pine Bluff Mayor
Vivian Flowers (D)9,857
John Fenley (Lib.)1,351
Pine Bluff City Council Ward 3, Position 1
William Fells (D)2,385
Colton Edwards (Ind.)667
Redfield Treasurer/Recorder
Dane Fults362
Tricia Clark211
Redfield City Council Ward 3, Position 1
Rachel Toland356
Diann Smith206
Wabbaseka City Council Position 4
Geraldine Moore48
Theresa Sloan42
Wabbaseka City Council Position 5
Commeka Goodloe69
Richard Gaines18
Pine Bluff School District Board Zone 7
Patrick Lockett992
Charline Wright762
State Issue 1 (Lottery proceeds for vo-tech scholarships)
For17,769
Against2,934
State Issue 2 (Casino license repealed in Pope County)
For11,161
Against9,681
Pine Bluff School District tax (approved August 2023)
For6,093
Against4,954
Watson Chapel School District tax (approved August 2022)
Against2,720
For1,777