Early Voting Underway across Arkansas
By: KARK 4 News
Updated: May 7, 2012
On the ballot are candidates for local, state and federal congressional races.
Arkansans should contact their local county courthouse to find out where to vote early.
At one point, it appeared Arkansas may play a factor in selecting the GOP presidential nominee.
However, that race is all but wrapped up with Mitt Romney expecting to get the nod. Romney, Sen. Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich, and Rep. Ron Paul will appear on the Arkansas ballot.
President Barack Obama will appear with a Democratic opponent: Tennessee attorney John Wolfe.
With those races largely decided, voters are starting to get inundated with commercials and advertisements from congressional and judicial candidates.
The majority of the attention is centered around the District 4 congressional race to replace Rep. Mike Ross. Ross is rumored to be running for governor in 2014.
A trio of candidates will be on the ballot for both parties in the District 4 race. On the Democratic side, you'll find Q. Byrum Hurst, state Sen. Gene Jeffress, and D.C. Morrison on the ballot. On the GOP side, Tom Cotton, Beth Anne Rankin, and John Cowart will appear.
The other contested congressional race will determine who faces Republican U.S. Rep. Rick Crawford in District 1. Scott Ellington, state Rep. Clark Hall, and Gary Latanich will appear on the Democratic ballot.
Republicans hope to gain control of the Arkansas Legislature for the first time since Reconstruction. All seats will be up for grabs due to recent redistricting.
Voters across the state will also select the next Supreme Court judge. Appeals court judges Raymond Abramson and Jo Hart are vying for the open seat.
The Secretary of State's office expects voter turnout of roughly 30 percent. A large percentage of those voters will fill out their ballots early.
