Election in the Middle of a Tornado

by Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Today, I'm a little late getting things reported. Will soon make posts to catch up on lasts nights “Super” Tuesday's results, etc. Yesterday, proved to be more than interesting in Baxter County, Arkansas during the last hours of voting and the processing of early and absentee voting. At 4:30 p.m., voting was going as usual. Workers were gathering at the County Court Bldg to help the Election Commissioners receive and process the voting results. We had 3 hours to go at the polling sites and all was going well. The final hours of voting, normally very busy, were lighter than regular elections. It appeared we were going to have an fairly easy evening. Everything was about to change.

Sheriff patrols reported swirling skies and tornado sirens blared. People headed to safety. By 5 p.m., the Little Rock National Weather Service reported a "good possibility" that Gassville, Arkansas had been hit by a tornado. Within minutes, we learned that Gassville had been hit. Over the next hour, many election workers at the court house (an election commissioner, paramedics and other emergency personnel) were paged out.

The Court House became an emergency shelter filled with people and pets. Local schools opened as shelters. Police, fire and first responders converged on an area strewn with rubble, twisted metal and overturned tractor-trailers. Several businesses and homes were destroyed or heavily damaged. With cell phone disrupted and regular phone lines down, we were unable to reach the Gassville and other rural polling locations.

The two remaining election officials calmly kept order, accomplish what they could and tried to call polling sites. But with communication down, we could only hope. Eventually, we began receiving reports damaged buildings near the voting site in Gassville. This intensified concern for the poll workers and voters at this site. During this period of time waiting, we could only pray forr poll workers, voters, emergency workers and affected families.

Other polling sites lost power, but the battery backup systems on the voting machines worked and voting operations continued until to the 7:30 p.m. closing time. Understandingly, there were no waiting lines at closing. Poll workers traveled, some an hour, to bring in voting machines and records. A few had to find alternative ways around the damaged area. When the Cotter’s voting marshal appeared, dripping from the rain, slightly exhausted, with her records and voting machine, we were excited to learn everyone was safe and the Cotter polling site was not damaged. With Cotter under a state of emergency, the police had ordered the polls closed and escorted her out of the damaged area.

Around 11 pm., our fellow election workers returned and we learned of the damage and stories of assistance rendered. Being glad everyone was back safe, we returned to processing the election. This morning at 2:30 a.m., we finished the election processing. I followed home one of the election commissioners who had worked 20 hours. She is rather special election commissioner -- at least to me. I've been married to her for 42 years. With a half hour drive to our home on curving Ozark roads, we both wondered what we would find. Thankfully, all was well.

Another election was over. We were thankful for the safety of poll workers and voters at the polls. Our hearts turned to prayers for the victims of the Tornado not knowing yet about the devastation yet to be reported in other locations in Arkansas and across the Southern states. See also: Storm rips through Gassville

---

Tags: Arkansas, elections, Gassville, Mountain Home, presidential primary, Tornado, Bill Smith To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!