Early voting for the 2026 primary election begins at 8 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17. All early voting will be conducted at the Hall-Morgan Veterans Building, 404 Sycamore Street in Rison across from the courthouse. Polls will be open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays. The final day for early voting is Monday, March 2, when the polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. The primary election day is Tuesday, March 3, when polling sites across the county will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Republican Primary is Closed
John Appleget, chairman of the Cleveland County Election Commission, reminds voters that everyone wanting to vote in the Republican primary must be registered as a Republican or “optional” on their voter registration since the Republican Party of Arkansas voted last year to make their primary elections “closed” to party members or optional voters only. Anyone who is registered as a Democrat will need to change their voter registration to Republican or “optional” in order to vote in the Republican primary. Appleget said voters can change their affiliation by filling out a new voter registration card, which he said will be available at the polling sites.
Contested Democratic Primary Races
U.S. Senate - Mayor Ethan N. Dunbar, Hallie Shoffner
Fourth District Congress - Steven Layne O’Donnell, James “Rus” Russell III
Arkansas Governor - State Senator Fred Love, Supha Xayprasith-Mays
Contested Republican Primary Races
U.S. Senate - Senator Tom Cotton, Micah Ashby, Jeb Little
Arkansas Secretary of State - Judge Cathy Hardin Harrison, Senator Kim Hammer
Arkansas Commissioner of State Lands - Secretary of State Cole Jester, Christian Olson
Cleveland County Judge - Rickey Spencer, Rosemary Sinclair, Stephen McClellan, Jim Houston
Cleveland County Sheriff - Keden Shrum, Brad Young, Vance Lee Freeman
Niven Township Constable - Anthony Smith, Josephy Dwayne Drye
Kingsland Mayor - Karen Sue Wiscaver, Samantha Johnson
State Supreme Court Chief Justice Position 3
John Adams
Arkansas Supreme Court Justice Nick Bronni