Do you know your district?

Both of Crittenden County’s House seats are up for grabs

By Ralph Hardin

news@theeveningtimes.com

Early voting began yesterday for the upcoming Nov. 5 General Election. Early voting runs through Monday, Nov. 4, and for those who will be unable to cast their votes within the allotted timeframe in person, absentee ballots are now available upon request.

If you have been paying any attention at all, you konw that there is a whole slate of races and issues facing voters this election cycle, ranging from the race for President of the United States all the way down to the numerous municipal races being contested at the community level.

Two of the more hotly contested races here in Crittenden County are for a pair of seats in the Arkansas House of Representatives. For the first time in more than a decade, both incument State Representatives (Deborah Ferguson- D, West Memphis and Milton Nicks,-D, Marion) have elected not to seek reelection, meaning the two legislative seats that represent Crittenden County (and parts of surrounding communities) are up for grabs.

The situationo has resulted in a very active political season for the four candidates as they attempt to woo voters.

And while whoever ultimately occupies those two seats in Little Rock next January will surely work to represent all of Crittenden County, which race you can vote in depends on exactly where it is that you live.

Ostensibly, the quick answer to “What district do I live in?”

See DISTRICT, page A3 DISTRICT

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is generally, House District 35 is largely in Marion and House Distrcit 63 is largely in West Memphis.

However, that’s not entirely accurate. Because the law requires that each of the state’s 100 legislative district be the same size (at least within a few percentage points), it is often necessary to create districts of unusual shape and geographic size, and that often means people living in the same city might be placed in different house districts.

District 35, currently represented by State Rep. Milton Nicks, includes all of Marion, as well as Crawfordsville, Earle, Turrell, Clarkedale, Sunset, Gilmore, Parkin and rural communities in between and situated amongst those towns and cities, as well as the extreme northeast tip of West Memphis.

In that race, Quorum Court Justice Robert Thorne Jr., representing the Republican Party, and Jessie McGruder, representing the Democrats, will be looking to fill Nicks’ seat when the State Legislature convenes in January 2025.

District 63, currently represented by State Rep. Deborah Ferguson, includes the rest of West Memphis, as well as thr rest of Crittenden County south of Interstate 40 (and a small outcropping of territory north of I-40 between I-40 and I-55). The district also includes Hughes, Heth and southeast St. Francis County rural communities.

The candidates in that race include Hughes Mayor Lincoln Barnett, the Democratic candidate, and Tammi Northcutt Bell, a Republican.

The two seats have historically been Democrat-controlled, an increasing rarity in Arkansas, where the GOP has a 4-to-1 majority in both the Arkansas House and Arkansas Senate. A sweep by the Democrats would serve to provide state Democrats with a bit of a continued, albeit diminished, presence in state politics, while a sweep by the Republican candidates would serve to further cement the GOP’s increasing popularity with state voters.

Voters unsure about which house district they live in can contact the Crittenden County Clerk’s office for clarity ahead of heading to the polls.