Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Tuesday Election Was Strange

Tuesday's General Election was by far and away the strangest ever.

Though things got off to an early start with the Clark County Election Commission, they didn't run smooth for long.

Workers set up the AIS-115 electronic voting tabulator in the municipal courtroom, running a test to make sure it was functioning properly. It worked well during the test, giving all hope for a quick count and reasonably early night.

The first problems were reported before the polls closed as claims were made the wrong ballots were being used in a Caddo Valley election.

When asked about what would happen should there be any write-in ballots, it was said the machine wouldn't recognize them as the proper procedure hadn't been followed for anyone to be a write-in candidate.

Ballots for early voting came in at 7:40 p.m., with the election watchers starting to show up at 7:45 p.m.

There were more than 1,000 early votes cast for the election, making it the largest single box to be tallied.

As the counting of early ballots started, boxes from around the county began arriving. These boxes were checked in, signed for and brought into the courtroom where they would eventually be counted.

The first results were given at 8:20 p.m. From there, things slowed down as the tabulator had problems with the rain and humidity.

The next boxes to be counted were from JoAnn, Gum Springs and Arkadelphia. These results were given at 9:10 p.m.

Hal Bass, with the Clark County Election Commission, said the tabulator was being temperamental, which slowed the process considerably.

By 11:50 p.m. only 12 of 35 precincts had been counted and all races were still in doubt.

At 1 a.m., the count was up to 13 of 35 boxes, but several people remained at the courthouse to get the results.

Early in the evening a small television had been brought in so those on hand could keep track of the presidential race.

All were amazed when Democratic contender Al Gore was first named the winner of Florida, only to have the networks recant, then give the victory to the Republican candidate, George W. Bush.

As everyone knows, this, too, was taken back, leaving Florida up for grabs. When AETN went off the air at 2 a.m., nothing was still known about who would be the 43rd President of the U.S.A.

About the time the tabulator began working properly, it ran out of ribbon and Dan Cook's had to be contacted for a replacement. This occurred at 1:15 a.m. The new ribbon was installed at 2:10 a.m. and counting resumed.

The diehards who remained were amazed at the outcome of the Missouri Senate race as the late Gov. Mel Carnahan ousted the incumbent.

The final boxes were counted at 2:35 a.m., with the results given shortly before 3 o'clock.

Tommy Roebuck, who had earlier learned of his victory for Arkansas House of Representatives for District 36, said he appreciated the voters of Clark and Nevada counties for their support and he had enjoyed the campaign.

"It gave me the chance to meet a lot of nice people," he said, "especially in Nevada County.

"I look forward to being your representative, and I urge people to let me know what I can do to represent them."

Roebuck said this will be a difficult session for the General Assembly with the fiscal constraints the state will face.

First, he said, there isn't as much money available as there has been in the past, and the top priority with what is there will be teacher salaries.

Expanding the tax base without raising taxes, he said, will be vital, along with finding jobs to help keep young people in the area.

Other issues Roebuck plans on addressing during the session include prescription drug costs and health care for the state's senior citizens.

Roebuck beat opponent Ron Addington 5,947-3,216. He will replace Percy Malone, who is now the state senator for district 3.