Early voting begins Monday for 2022 Mid-terms

Primaries, school board, judicial races to be decided in May 24 elections

By RALPH HARDIN

ralphhardin@gmail.com

The Crittenden County Election Commission has formally announced that the 2022 Arkansas Primary will be held on Tuesday, May 24. Polls will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for the preferential primary, school board and nonpartisan judicial elections.

Want to beat the election day crowds? Early Voting begins on Monday, May 9 and runs thru Monday, May

23. Early voting hours will be 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. There is no early voting on Sunday. By Arkansas statute, early voting concludes at 5 p.m. on May 23.

Voters take note: The early voting locations are different for this election. In Marion, early voting will take place at the Marion High School Arena Building. In West Memphis, polls will be open at the Roberta Jackson Neighborhood Center. Voters may go to either of these locations, regardless of where they live in Crittenden County. The commission also announced the location for election day polling sites. Election day voting will occur on May 24, from

7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Polling places in West Memphis are

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■ First Baptist Church of West Memphis

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■ West Memphis High School

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■ Eugene Woods Civic Center

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■ Calvary Baptist Church

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■ 7th Street Church of Christ

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■ Roberta Jackson Neighborhood Center

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■ Wonder City Boys Club. In Marion voters will cast their votes at:

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■ Marion Patriot Arena

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■ Marion Church of God

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■ Tabernacle of God on Highway 77.

Elsewhere in the county, voters will go to:

■ ■ Edmondson City Hall

■ ■ Gilmore City Hall

■ ■ W.R. Golden Community Center in Turrell

■ ■ Earle City Hall

■ ■ St. Luke Church in Earle

■ ■ Crawfordsville Water Department

■ ■ Bonds Marine

■ ■ Horseshoe Lake Fire Station

■ ■ Jericho City Hall

■ ■ Anthonyville Fire Department

■ ■ Jennette City Hall.

On Election Day voters must go to their assigned poll location. Absentee Ballot canvassing will take place on Tuesday, May 24, at

See CANDIDATES, page A3

COOPER

FULLER

MURDOCK CANDIDATES

From page A1

9 a.m., at the West Memphis Civic Center with the opening of the outer envelopes and verification of contents. Absentee ballots can be picked up at the County Clerk’s office at the Crittenden County Courthouse. The list of appointed Election Poll Workers is posted at the County Courthouse and any objection to an Election Poll Worker should be filed with the County Election Commission.

Any voter wishing to find their assigned polling site and also to a view a sample ballot should go to www. voterview.ar-nova.org/ voterview or the Secretary of State website.

Voters here and across the state will be heading to their designated polling places with a number of candidates to consider. At the top of the ballot will be the governor’s race. Current governor Asa Hutchinson is term limited, so with him stepping down after eight years, Arkansas will have a new governor and voters will have no shortage of options. Two Republicans will be on the ballot for GOP voters to choose from, including Francis “Doc” Washburn and Sarah Huckabee Sanders Governor, who many pundits believe to be a strong frontrunner in the race.

There are five candidates on the Democratic side, Anthony “Tony” Bland, Supha Xayprasith-Mays, James “Rus” Russell III, Chris Jones, and Jay Martin have all filed to seek their party’s nomination.

If you’re tired of the two-party system, there are also a number of alternative candidates, including Libertarian Ricky Dale Harrington, Jr., as well as Write-In candidates Jason Tate, Dan Nelson, Michael Woodard, and Elvis Presley (no, not that one).

In the race for lieutenant governor, eight candidates are running for that office. The Republicans are Attorney General Leslie Rutledge; former party chair Doyle Webb; state Sen. Jason Rapert of Conway; Washington County Judge Joseph Wood; Surgeon General Dr. Greg Bledsoe; and attorney Chris Bequette. Democrat Kelly Krout and Libertarian Frank Gilbert are also running.

Voters will be electing the state auditor, treasurer and land commissioner. Three candidates are running for state auditor, the state’s accountant and payroll officer: Republican Dennis Milligan, the current state treasurer; Democrat Diamond Arnold-Johnson; and Libertarian Simeon Show.

Three seek to become state treasurer, the state’s banker who presides over $5 billion in investments. Republican candidates are state Sen. Mat Pitsch of Fort Smith, and Rep. Mark Lowery of Maumelle. Pam Whitaker is running as a Democrat.

Two candidates are running for land commissioner, whose duties include processing delinquent property taxes and leasing and permitting minerals on state-owned land: incumbent Republican Tommy Land; and Democrat Darlene Gaines.

Two other statewide offices are also elected. Three candidates are running for attorney general, the state’s lawyer: Republicans Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin and Leon Jones, and Democrat Jesse Gibson. Four are running for secretary of state, who is in charge of elections and managing the Capitol. The Republicans are the incumbent, John Thurston, and former state Sen. Eddie Joe Williams of Cabot. Democrats Anna Beth Gorman and Joshua Price are also competing for the job.

Voters in this region will also be electing a new State Senator. Keith Ingram is stepping down, leaving a wide-open race for the newly- created District 9 Senate seat. A pair of Democrats will face off in the May primary, former Turrell Mayor Dorothy Cooper and State Representative Reginald Murdock of Marianna. The Republican candidate Terry Fuller of Poplar Grove will face the winner of the Democratic primary in November.

In the race for the State Representative District 35 seat, State Rep. Milton Nicks is facing a primary challenge from Demetris Johnson Jr. of Earle. There is no Republican contender in that race. State Rep. Deborah Ferguson of District 63 is also facing an opponent in the May primary. She is being challenged by Lincoln Emmanuel Barnett of St. Francis County. Again, there is no Republican candidate for that seat.

A number of local and county races will also be in the hands of voters. In the Marion School Board races, all seven seats will be uncontested.

Bart Vaughn was the lone candidate to file for the Zone 1 seat, long held by A. Jan Thomas, who passed away earlier this year. Eddie Minton filed for re-election for the Zone 2 seat, as did Jeffrey Richardson in Zone 3. Other school board candidates include: Rob Rash in Zone 4, Jerri Crase in Zone 5, Gary Wehrum in Zone 6 and Daryel Jackson in Zone 7.

In the West Memphis School Board races, four of the seven seats will see contested races. In the Zone 1 race, Joyce Gray’s opponent Eddie West has withdrawn from the race but will appear on the ballot. Joann Faulner (Zone 2), Sheila Grissom (Zone 3), and Emily Scarbrough (Zone 4) are all unopposed. In Zone 5, Orival McClure of Proctor and Billy Thomen of Horseshoe Lake will vie for that seat, which includes the western portion of the district outside of the West Memphis City Limits.

The West Memphis School District also has two At-Large seats. Both of those seats will see incumbents face challenges.

In the At-Large Position 1 race, incumbent Randy Catt will be challenged by Anthony Hampton.

In the At-Large Position 2 race, incumbent Gary Masner will be challenged by Basil Joiner.

The Earle School District remains under administrative control of the Arkansas Department of Education and will not hold school board elections in 2022.

In the county’s eight executive offices, there will be four uncontested races and four contested races. County Judge Woody Wheeless (D-Marion), Tax Assessor Kim Hollowell (D-Marion), Tax Collector Ellen Foote (D-West Memphis), and Treasurer Matt Thompson (D-Marion) are all running for re-election unopposed.

For the County Sheriff’s seat, Sheriff Mike Allen (D-Crawfordsville) has filed for re-election.

Two Democrats filed for the Circuit Clerk’s position, Terry Hawkins and Terry Griffin, both of Marion. In the County Coroner’s race, incumbent Bill Wolfe of Marion filed for another term. He will face a challenge from Greg Shea of Horseshoe Lake in November.

And in the race for the County Clerk job, incumbent Paula Brown (D-Marion) will have a challenger in November. She will be facing M. Linda Fritz (R-Marion).

As a result of Crittenden County’s population dropping below the benchmark of 50,000 in the 2020 U.S. Census, the county’s number of Justice of the Peace seats was reduced from 13 to 11. In the newly redrawn Quorum Court districts, only two of the 11 JP races will be contested.

In the JP District 3 race, two Democrats, both incumbents who reside within the new district, will face each other: Patsy Hull and Stacy Allen, both of West Memphis.

In the other contested race, JP District 8, Incumbent Vanessa Basemore (D-Marion) will be challenged in November by Robert Thorne (R-Marion), a former JP who was, by statute, unable to seek a full term after being appointed to finish a vacany on the Quorum Court by Governor Asa Hutchinson from 2017 to 2018.

The following Justices will be unopposed in the primary elections: JP 1 – Vickie Robertson (D-West Memphis) JP 2 – Albert Marconi (R-West Memphis) JP 4 – Tamara Hood (DWest Memphis) JP 5 – Tyrone McWright (D- West Memphis) JP 6 – Thomas Dill (DWest Memphis) JP 7 – Ronnie Marconi (DProctor) JP 9 – Kenneth Cross (DEarle) JP 10 – James Fraley (DTurrell) JP 11 – Lisa O’Neal (DMarion) Additionally, the county’s five Constable seats are up for a vote, although there are no contested races in four of the five seats.

In the Black Oak Township Scott Fraley of Earle is the lone candidate. In the Jasper Township, Stanley Griffin of Marion is the lone candidate. Toy Harness III of Hughes is the only candidate for Constable of Lucas Township, and Michael Bass of Proctor is the sole candidate in Proctor Township.

In the Mississippi Township Constable race, Eddie West will be challenged by William Smith, both of West Memphis.

There will also be a slate of nonpartisan judicial races: In the race for State Supreme Court Associate Justice Position 2, Justice Robin Wynne will be seeking re-election. Wynne will be facing David Sterling and Judge Chris Carnahan in that contest.

In the State Supreme Court Associate Justice Position 6 race, Judge Gunner DeLay is challenging Supreme Court Justice Karen Baker for her seat.

State Supreme Court Associate Justice Position 7 holder Supreme Court Justice Rhonda Wood is unopposed. In the Court of Appeals Associate Judge District 1, Position 1 race, Court of Appeals Judge Raymond R. Abramson is also unopposed, as are Court of Appeals Associate Judge District 1, Position 2 Judge Cindy Thyer and Circuit Judge, District 2, Division 6, Subdistrict 2.1 Judge Tonya Alexander.

In the race for the Prosecuting Attorney, District 2 position, Corey Seats, Martin E. Lilly are Sonia Fonticiella vying for that seat in a three-way contest.

Voters can vote in either party’s primary. You will be asked to select a party ballot when you arrive at the polling place. You will be asked to provide a state-issued form of identification to vote.