Filing time for municipal candidates

City offices, county seats on the line in November elections

By Ralph Hardin

news@theeveningtimes.com

While the presidential race is getting all the headlines, there are still a number of other important races that will be decided in November, including a number of municipal seats an positions in the county government.

And in order to get on the ballot in November, candidates seeking city council and other municipal seats will begin filing the necessary paperwork later this week. .

County clerks’ offices all across the state are expected to be busy in the next week or so as people interested in running for mayor or city council seats in Arkansas will be making their intentions known.

According to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s website, the filing period starts at noon Wednesday and runs until noon on Wednesday, Aug. 7.

Those who file will be eligible to be on the ballot for the Nov. 5 general election, but before doing so, a candidate must get a petition with signatures from registered voters in order to file for office and file other paperwork establishing eligibility for office.

In Crittenden County, mayoral elections were held in 2022 and those offices come with a four-year term.

But there are plenty of other races that will be down-ballot from the highly-contested U.S. presidential race between Donald Trump and presumably Vice President Kamala Harris.

In May, party primaries were held to decide what names would be on the ballot for a number of races, including both Arkansas House seats that include Crittenden County, as well as the U.S.

House of Representatives and a number of Crittenden County Quorum Court Justice races. Voters in Arkansas will also be asked to decide on a slate of ballot measures and initiatives.

But municipal races are nonpartisan, and the filing period for those seats is later in the year.

Anyone interested in learning more about filing for office can contact Crittenden County Clerk Paula Brown’s office at (870) 739-4434, or visit the courthouse, locates at 100 Court St., in Marion, for more information about each office’s eligibility requirements, residency requirements and more.

Register to Vote

Not registered to vote? There is still time to register before the Nov. 5 election. To register in Crittenden County, you must:

•Be a U.S. citizen

•Be an Arkansas resident (residing in Arkansas at least 30days before the first election in which you will vote).

• Be 18 or turn 18 on or before the next election.

• Not be convicted of a felony without your sentence having been discharged or pardoned.

• Not be presently adjudged mentally incompetent as to your ability to vote by a court of competent jurisdiction.

• Must not claim the right to vote in another county or state.

BROWN