By Thursday afternoon, 1,224 people had turned out to the polls since early voting began Feb. 17. According to the Jefferson County clerk’s office, the daily count was:
Feb. 17 — 490
Feb. 18 — 394
Feb. 19 — 340
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Early voting for the March 3 preferential primary, nonpartisan judicial general election and annual school board election in Jefferson County will end March 2 at the Jefferson County Courthouse.
Voting will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Feb. 23, and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. March 2.
Those who want to cast an absentee ballot will have two options:
• Request to have an absentee ballot application sent to you by contacting the county clerk’s office. Residents will have to request an application, per Act 736 of 2021, which prohibits clerks from sending unsolicited absentee applications to voters who have not established recent contact to request a new ballot application. All voters who want to receive an absentee ballot must contact the county clerk’s office. The clerk’s office will be unable to send an application without a request. An application may be downloaded from Jefferson County’s website.
• Download and complete an absentee ballot application, then return the application to the Jefferson County clerk’s office, P.O. Box 6317, Pine Bluff AR 71611, or email to jeffersonclerk@arkansasclerks.com.
IMPORTANT DATES
• Feb. 24: Deadline to receive absentee ballot applications by mail, fax or email.
• March 2: Early voting ends at 5 p.m.; deadline to register to vote for the November general election.
• March 3: Election day. Polls open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; deadline for delivery of absentee ballots by agent at 1:30 p.m.; deadline to receive absentee ballots by mail, in-person agent for medically disabled registrants at 7:30 p.m.
• March 9: Deadline for provisional voters to present a copy of a document for ID to the county board of election commissioners or county clerk.
• March 13: Deadline to receive Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act ballots.
CANDIDATES BY BALLOT
The following candidates are listed according to the sample ballots provided by the county clerk.
ALL BALLOTS
Nonpartisan Judicial General Election: State Supreme Court Associate Justice Position 3 — Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Nick Bronni, John Adams
Prosecuting Attorney, District 11-West: Karres Manning-Center, Mircha King, Evelyn Moorehead, Joe West
Pine Bluff School District — 47.7-mill school tax, enacted after August 2023 election (for or against)
Voters will also be given the opportunity to vote for unopposed candidates not listed elsewhere on the ballot (see “Other Races” subhead).
DEMOCRAT
U.S. Senate: Hallie Shoffner, (Lewisville) Mayor Ethan N. Dunbar
U.S. Congress District 4: James “Rus” Russell III, Steven Layne O’Donnell
Governor: State Sen. Fred Love; Supha Xayprasith-Mays
County Judge: Jeff Edwards, Michael J. Turley, County Judge Gerald L. Robinson, Efrem B. Neely Sr., Eric Walden Jr.
County Sheriff: Mark Cannon, Sheriff Lafayette Woods Jr.
County Clerk: Rosetta La Joyce Evans Giddens, County Clerk Shawndra Taggart
County Circuit Clerk: Barbara A. Collins, Connie Compton
County Assessor: Bruce White Jr., Assessor Gloria Tillman
County Coroner: Coroner Chad Kelley, Jamal Gordon
Justice of the Peace: Brenda Bishop Gaddy, Sherman Ferguson
Unopposed Candidates: Secretary of State — Kelly Grappe; State Representative District 64 — Kenneth B. Ferguson; State Representative District 65 — Glenn Barnes; County Tax Collector — Tony Washington; County Treasurer — County Treasurer Vonysha Goodwin; Justice of the Peace District 7 — Melanie Johnson Dumas; Justice of the Peace District 8 — David E. Dinwiddie; Justice of the Peace District 10 — Greg Moody; Justice of the Peace District 11 — Tina Butler; Constable Dunnington — John Thomas; Constable Vaugine — James Wilburn; Constable Richland — Bruce Carman; Pine Bluff City Attorney — City Attorney Althea Hadden-Scott; Pine Bluff Council Member Ward 1 — Council Member LaTisha Brunson; Pine Bluff Council Member Ward 2 — Council Member Glen Brown Jr.
REPUBLICAN
U.S. Senate: Micah Ashby, Jeb Little, Sen. Tom Cotton
Secretary of State: Bryan Norris, Sen. Kim Hammer, Judge Cathy Hardin Harrison
Commissioner of State Lands: Secretary of State Cole Jester, Christian Olson
Unopposed Candidates: U.S. Congress District 4 — Congressman Bruce Westerman; Governor — Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders; Lieutenant Governor — Lt. Gov. Leslie Rutledge; Attorney General — Attorney General Tim Griffin; State Treasurer — State Treasurer John Thurston; Auditor of State — Auditor of State Dennis Milligan; State Representative District 93 — Rep. Mike Holcomb; County Judge — Nathaniel Todd; Justice of the Peace District 8 — Roy Agee; Justice of the Peace District 10 — Conley Byrd; Justice of the Peace District 11 — Jerry V. Lawrence Jr.; Justice of the Peace District 12 — Justice Ted Harden; Constable Spring Township — Justice Richard “Doc” Victorino; Constable Talladega Township — Michale Stayton; Constable Niven Township — Eric Shelton
OTHER RACES
The following races were announced after the ballot position drawings in December but were not listed on either sample ballot:
Pine Bluff Council Member Ward 3: Democratic — Jeffrey Neal, City Council Member Lanette R. Frazier
Pine Bluff Council Member Ward 4: Democratic — Alderman Steven Mays, Nathaniel Dee Baker
County Justice of the Peace District 1: Democratic — Jackie Tillmon, Deshaun Eans, Justice of the Peace Alfred Carroll
County Justice of the Peace District 2: Democratic — Reginald Adams, Leo Smith
County Justice of the Peace District 3: Democratic — Reginald Johnson, Joseph J. O’Neal III
County Justice of the Peace District 4: Democratic — Oscar Bullard Jr., Justice Patricia Royal Johnson
County Justice of the Peace District 5: Democratic — Ivan Whitfield, Justice Jimmy L. Fisher Sr.
County Justice of the Peace District 6: Democratic — Randy Green, Glen Brown
County Justice of the Peace District 9: Democratic — Cedric Jackson, George H. Barnes Sr.
County Justice of the Peace District 13: Democratic — Brenda Bishop Gaddy, Sherman Ferguson
Pine Bluff School District Board of Directors, Zone 2: Arnold Robertson Jr., LozAnne H. Calhoun.