elections

COMMENTARY
Smiling teacher teaches children about the solar system

Our new governor must invest in education

BY: - December 7, 2022

Arkansas just made history with the election of Sarah Huckabee Sanders as our first female governor. Her success in her role as governor will depend heavily upon her investment in education. K-12 education issues were a top concern for voters, and her actions on these will be pivotal for our students, families, communities, and the […]

Former Acting Solicitor General Neal Katyal, left, and Allison Riggs, co-executive director of the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, right, in front of the Supreme Court Dec. 7, 2022, after arguments in a pivotal North Carolina case dealing with election law. (Photo by Kira Lerner/States Newsroom)

Future of U.S. election law at stake as Supreme Court hears North Carolina case

BY: and - December 7, 2022

WASHINGTON — North Carolina Republicans appeared to have at least three of the U.S. Supreme Court’s conservative justices on their side Wednesday in a case that could determine the future of elections nationwide and leave decisions about federal elections in the hands of state legislatures and beyond the reach of state courts.  The Supreme Court […]

Tuesday, Dec. 6, 2022, is election day for runoffs from the Nov. 8 election.(Antoinette

Dozens of mayoral seats up for grabs in Tuesday’s runoff elections

BY: - December 5, 2022

Thirty-four mayoral races will be decided in Tuesday’s runoff election. Seventeen include incumbents like Linda Newbury in Union County. The Felsenthal mayor is facing Theresa Howard after both candidates received 24 votes in the general election. More than 70 elections for mayoral, city council and school board positions are occurring in thirty-nine counties statewide.  There […]

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden at a campaign event at Wofford University Feb. 28, 2020 in Spartanburg, S.C. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images)

Democrats strip Iowa of first-in-the-nation prize, tap South Carolina for first primary

BY: - December 2, 2022

WASHINGTON — Voters in South Carolina would go first in picking Democratic presidential nominees, followed by Nevada, New Hampshire, Georgia and Michigan if their states go along with a proposal a key Democratic National Committee panel approved Friday.  The Rules and Bylaws Committee’s nearly unanimous voice vote proposes moving the Democratic primary’s earliest election date […]

Phillips County (Arkansas) Courthouse (Getty Images)

Arkansas election authority will investigate Phillips County reporting struggles

BY: - November 23, 2022

Ongoing problems with tallying and reporting voting data led the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners this week to agree to open an investigation into the Phillips County Election Commission. The board unanimously agreed Tuesday to have director Daniel Shults file a complaint against the commission, which failed to upload the results of this month’s election […]

Phillips County recount in Arkansas House District 62 race does not change results

BY: - November 22, 2022

A recount in Phillips County on Monday solidified State Rep. Mark McElroy’s reelection victory in Arkansas House District 62, according to the Helena World, Phillips County’s local newspaper. McElroy (R-Tillar) faced Democrat Dexter Miller, a Phillips County resident who requested the recount Friday. He said he thought something was amiss in the initial results, especially […]

No change to Arkansas House District 56 results after recount

BY: - November 21, 2022

State Rep. Steve Magie (D-Conway) won a sixth term in the Arkansas Legislature after a recount in House District 56 yielded the same 10-vote victory he had after the first count. The district is entirely within Faulkner County, and the recount started Friday and ended Saturday. Magie received 4,051 votes while Republican Trent Minner, who […]

State House candidate requests recount in Arkansas Delta district

BY: - November 18, 2022

This story was updated at 6:58 p.m. on Nov. 18, 2022, with comments from Dexter Miller. Votes in the Arkansas House District 62 election will be recounted at Democratic candidate Dexter Miller’s request, adding another responsibility to the Phillips County Election Commission while it has been struggling to send the county’s results to the state. […]

Phillips County election officials struggle to report results to Secretary of State

BY: - November 17, 2022

HELENA-WEST HELENA — State Rep. Mark McElroy (R-Tillar) decided to put off celebrating his reelection victory until after Phillips County sent its voting data to the Secretary of State, but that might have become a problem, he said Wednesday. “The ribs I bought for the celebration are getting stale and green,” he said Wednesday, laughing. […]

A smiling young Black woman holds an "I voted" sticker after voting at a polling place.

Young Black and Latino voters seen as key in turning back midterm ‘red wave’

BY: - November 11, 2022

WASHINGTON — Young Black and Latino voters were critical in holding off the Republican “red wave” in several battleground states for U.S. Senate seats and in tight U.S. House races in the midterm elections, according to analyses by researchers and grassroot organizations.  Young, diverse voters between the ages of 18 and 29 had the second-highest […]

Incumbent Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. (right) won reelection Tuesday. Here he gives a pat on the back in passing to candidate Steve Landers Sr. at the conclusion of a candidate forum held in Little Rock. Oct. 10, 2022. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

Frank Scott Jr. wins second term as Little Rock’s mayor

BY: - November 9, 2022

This story was updated at 4:10 p.m. Nov. 11 to reflect the latest vote tallies from the Pulaski County Election Commission’s website. Incumbent Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr. won re-election Tuesday night in the city’s combative and high-dollar mayor’s race, with 49.9% of the vote according to unofficial totals on election night. Finishing second […]

The newly renovated Jefferson County Courthouse in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)

An Arkansas reporter’s election eve travel diary

BY: - November 7, 2022

Advocate Senior Reporter Antoinette Grajeda visited a number of county seats in southern Arkansas on Monday to assess the election environment on the day before Arkansans finish selecting a new governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general, among numerous other federal, state, county and local officials. She tweeted throughout her journey, and here were a few […]