ARKANSAS, USA — Early voting is right around the corner, and according to the secretary of state's office, as of Wednesday, October 5 about 1.7 million Arkansans are registered to vote.
Though that number may seem like a lot, organizations such as "Get Loud Arkansas" and "Arkansas United" have said it’s not enough.
They are hopeful that their efforts can help that number increase.
"Arkansas is sadly dead last in this country and voter turnout at 54%," said Joshua Ang Price, the Deputy Director of Arkansas United.
Price explained that the organization has been working to make sure everyone who calls the natural state home can use their voice.
“According to the last census, we've got over 250,000, Hispanics and Latinx in the state, and almost 100,000, Asian American Pacific Islanders. So that's, that's 10% of the state," added Price.
Price said they work to make sure language barriers don't stop anyone from casting their ballot
“We're not only working with the election commissions to try to recruit those bilingual poll workers, but also we have volunteers that can be available at the polls," said Price.
He mentioned that he's seen firsthand how some people may feel discouraged when it comes to voting.
"A lot of immigrants, especially from the AAPI community, they're coming from a country that maybe was politically unstable, had a lot of election fraud. And you know, maybe their vote really didn't count,” said Price. “But we were trying to help them understand that here in the United States, you can vote, and your vote is going to be counted and processed, and it's going to make a difference.”
Arkansas United isn't the only organization that has made similar efforts.
Get Loud Arkansas was first launched in 2021 with the hopes to encourage more Arkansans to register to vote.
"Your voice will be heard, no matter what your English sounds like, it will still be heard, because everybody's ballot speaks the same language and that's a mark on the paper," said State Senator Joyce Elliott.
Senator Elliott, Executive Director of the organization explained that although they are a new organization, they've been actively working to cover as much of the natural state as they can.
"Pulaski county, for example, is one of those that we've targeted. The same thing is true in Benton and Washington County, " added Elliott.
The message that is echoed by every organization, is for Arkansans to register, show up, and most importantly vote.
“Let's not wait until we're comfortable, because that might take too long. We do it anyway. We do it for our families. We do it for our kids. We do it for a better country,” said Elliott.
If you're not registered to vote, the deadline is Tuesday, October 11 and early voting starts on October 23. Election day is November 8.