Early Voting Begins For Primary Election

RISON - Early voting is currently underway for the 2026 primary election at the Hall-Morgan Veterans Building, located at 404 Sycamore Street across from the courthouse in Rison.Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday, Feb. 21, and next Saturday, Feb. 28. The final day for early voting is Monday, March 2, when the polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. The primary election will be held on Tuesday, March 3, when polling sites across the county will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.The Republican primary election is “closed,” which means only voters registered as Republican or “optional” can participate. John Appleget, chairman of the Cleveland County Election Commission, said voters can change their registration to Republican or optional by filling out a new voter registration card, which will be available at the polls.Here are the contested races that will be on the ballot:Democratic PrimaryU.S. Senate - Mayor Ethan N. Dunbar, Hallie ShoffnerFourth District Congress - Steven Layne O’Donnell, James “Rus” Russell IIIArkansas Governor - State Senator Fred Love, Supha Xayprasith-MaysRepublican PrimaryU.S. Senate - Senator Tom Cotton, Micah Ashby, Jeb LittleArkansas Secretary of State - Judge Cathy Hardin Harrison, Senator Kim HammerArkansas Commissioner of State Lands - Secretary of State Cole Jester, Christian OlsonCleveland County Judge - Rickey Spencer, Rosemary Sinclair, Stephen McClellan, Jim HoustonCleveland County Sheriff - Keden Shrum, Brad Young, Vance Lee FreemanNiven Township Constable - Anthony Smith, Josephy Dwayne DryeKingsland Mayor - Karen Sue Wiscaver, Samantha JohnsonState Supreme Court, Chief Justice Position 3John AdamsArkansas Supreme Court Justice Nick Bronni ...