Early Voting for March 3 Primary starts today

Election Commission announces dates, polling places

By Ralph Hardin

ralphhardin@gmail.com

In case you’ve somehow missed it, it’s already Election Season.

In 2020, there are a number of local and state races for voters to weigh in on in addition to the Presidential Election this November, but before that, there is a vote coming up in just a few weeks.

Why the early jump?

It’s because the State of Arkansas will be one of the first states to hold its primary elections in 2020. Voters will head to the polls on March 3, as one of 14 states holding elections on what is commonly referred to as “Super Tuesday.”

Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Democrats Abroad, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, and Virginia will all hold their presidential primaries on that date, and with a crowded field of candidates, those primary results will likely make or break many candidates’ campaign prospects.

Here in Crittenden County, the preferential primary election will give party members a chance to decide who represents them on the ballot in November.

Vying for the Democratic nomination for U.S. President are no less than 18 candidates for Arkansas voters to choose from. While many of these hopefuls are not nationallyknown candidates and some who will appear on the ballot have officially dropped out of the race since the filing deadline late last year, here are the candidates (in ballot order): U.S.

President (Democratic Party)

• Andrew Yang

• Kamala Harris

• Elizabeth Warren

• Tom Steyer

• Tulsi Gabbard

• Julian Castro

• Steve Bullock

• Joseph R. Biden

• Michael Bennet

• Mosie Boyd

• Michael R.

Bloomberg

• Cory Booker

• Marianne Williamson • Joe Sestak

• Pete Buttigieg

• John K. Delaney

• Bernie Sanders

• Amy Klobuchar Also appearing on the ballot in the Democratic Primary are a number of unopposed candidates: • Rep. Milton Nicks Jr. (State Representative District 50)

• Rep. Deborah Ferguson (State Representative District 51)

• Rep. Monte Hodges (State Representative District 55)

• Vickie Miles-Robinson (Justice of The Peace District 1)

• Patsy A. Hull (Justice of the Peace District 3)

• Stacy Allen (Justice of the Peace District 4)

• Tyrone McWright (Justice of the Peace District 5)

• Thomas A. Dill (Justice of the Peace District 6)

• Ronnie Marconi (Justice of the Peace District 7)

• Justice Kenneth Cross (Justice of the Peace District 9)

• Lisa Vickers O’Neal (Justice of the Peace District 11) A number of seats on the Quorum Court will have contested races.

The following candidates for those seats are (in ballot position order):

• Justice of the Peace District 8 Venessa Basemore Joe Marotti

• Justice of the Peace District 10 Leonard Terrell Swift James D.

Fraley

• Justice of the Peace, District 13 Gwendolyn Brown Tamara Hood There are no contested

SeeVOTING on Page 3 races in the Constable races. The unopposed candidates are:

• Rodney Davis, Constable, Black Oak Township

• Michael Ray Bass, Constable, Proctor Township

• Chief Billy Thomen, Constable, Lucas Township • Eddie C. West, Constable, Mississippi Township

• Gary Ray Kelley, Constable, Jasper Township In the Republican Primary, despite being the incumbent, President Donald Trump will have a pair of opponents in the primary elections.

Republican Presidential candidates are (in ballot position order): U.S. President, Republican Party:

• Roque “Rocky” De La Fuente

• Bill Weld

• Donald J. Trump Also appearing on the ballot in the Republican Primary are a number of unopposed candidates:

• Congressman Rick Crawford (U. S. Congress District 1)

• Senator Tom Cotton (U.S. Senate, Arkansas)

• Gary Tobar (State Representative District 55)

• Rev. John L. Rech Jr. (Justice of the Peace District 12) Regardless of which party’s primary voters choose to participate in, one seat on the Marion School Board will be up for grabs, although that race is uncontested:

• Gary Wehrum (Marion School Board, Zone 6) In addition to the preferential primary, voters will also make their choices in the non-partisan judicial elections (candidates appear in ballot position order): State Supreme Court Associate Justice Position 4

• Judge Morgan “Chip” Welch

• Barbara Womack Webb Circuit Judge, District 02, Division 07, At Large

• R. Scott Troutt

• Mary Lile Broadaway Circuit Judge, District 2, Division 12

• Scott Willhite

• Scott Ellington Circuit Judge, District 02, Division 05, At Large

• Tom Young Nonpartisan • Skip Mooney Jr.

Circuit Judge, District 02, Division 08, Subdistrict 2.2

• Matthew Coe

• Kimberly Boling Bibb The Crittenden County Board of Election Commissioners has issued an official ‘Notice of Election’ for the March 3rd Primary.

Early Voting will take place at the Crittenden County Court House in the Crittenden County Quorum Court Chambers, located at 100 Court Street, in Marion, starting today.

Times for early voting will be:

• Tuesday the 18th of February through Friday the 21st of February, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

• Saturday the 22nd of February and the 29th of February, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

• Monday the 24th of February through Monday the 2nd of March, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Early Voting will be closed on Sundays.

Additionally, the Election Commission has announced polling sites for Election Day.

On Tuesday, March 3rd, election day hours will be 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m., at the following locations.

In West Memphis:

• West Memphis First Baptist

• Civic Center

• Mt. Olive Baptist Church

• West Memphis High School Lehr Arena

• Calvary Baptist Church

• Wonder Boys Club

• 7th Street Church of Christ

• Pilgrim Rest Church In Marion:

• Crittenden County Office Building

• Marion Church of God

• Immanuel Baptist Church In Earle:

• Earle City Hall

• St. Luke Church Earle In Horseshoe Lake:

• Horseshoe Lake City Hall

• Bonds Marine In Crittenden County:

• Edmondson City Hall

• Anthony City Hall

• Jennette City Hall • Jericho City Hall

• Crawfordsville Water Dept.

• Gilmore City Hall

• W.R. Golden Community Center in Turrell Arkansas law requires voters to present a state-issued ID when before voting. Anyone without ID may cast a provisional ballot.

Absentee voting ballots will be available at the Crittenden County Courthouse in the Crittenden County Court Clerk’s office. To receive an absentee ballot by mail, you need to request to have an absentee ballot application sent to you by contacting the County Clerk in the county where you are registered to vote.

You may also download an absentee ballot application from the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Office.