March 3 Republican Primary Closed

Anyone wanting to vote in the Republican primary for any of the locally-contested races in the March 3 primary election will have to be registered as a Republican or an “optional” on their voter registration. The Republican Party of Arkansas voted last summer to make its primary elections closed, which means those voting must be a Republican or have no specific party affiliation noted on their voter registration. The races for Cleveland County Judge and Cleveland County Sheriff will both be decided in the Repubican primary since that are not other candidates running. John Appleget, chairman of the Cleveland County Election Commission, said those who are registered Democrats can re-classify as optional or Republican any day before the primary to participate in the March 3 election. He said the re-classification must be done through the County Clerk’s office at the courthouse in Rison.