You may recall that the last time Sen. Blanche Lincoln faced Lt. Gov. Bill Halter in an Arkansas Democratic primary vote, things did not go so well — instead of the classic shot of the candidate casting her ballot, cameras caught Lincoln being forced to fill out a provisional ballot because the polling place said she had voted already. She had requested an absentee ballot but not filled it out, causing a bit of a campaign fail for the incumbent Senator under attack from the left for being more concerned about Washington than Arkansas.
Today, the story was different. Lincoln campaign spokesperson Katie Laning Niebaum told me that Lincoln voted in person with no trouble in her home precint at around 12:30 Arkansas time.
“It was a regular ballot,” Niebaum told me.
Niebaum told me that this time, the campaign had checked in advance to make sure Lincoln wouldn’t get stuck with another embarrassing scene at the polling place.
“We ensured she was going to have a regular ballot this time,” Niebaum said.
Of course the circumstances in which Lincoln voted today are much different than that of May 18. Last time Lincoln cast a ballot, polls showed her within striking distance of winning the primary outright, and putting an end to Halter’s insurgent bid backed by national progressives and labor. That didn’t happen — Halter actually came close to beating Lincoln in the total vote — and now it’s Halter who’s in the driver’s seat.
Halter’s campaign did not immediately respond to questions about his voting experience today.
Check out this video of a beaming Lincoln after casting her regular ballot today. It was shot by the campaign and distributed to her supporters this afternoon:
