5:43 p.m. update
Voters have been streaming into polling places in Saline County after waiting out inclement weather earlier in the day.
An attendant at Grace Church in Bryant directed voters where to vote and where to park in a busy parking lot late Tuesday afternoon.
Ashlyn and Elizabeth Taylor, 18-year-old twins, voted in their first election Tuesday. Both voted for Republican presidential candidate Ted Cruz.
Ashlyn Taylor said Cruz has conservative values she "can get behind" including an anti-abortion stance. Taylor said she doesn't think Democratic candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton would make a good president, and she'll vote in November for whoever wins the Republican nomination.
2:29 p.m. update
Rain that was falling in Little Rock and throughout the midsection of Arkansas is moving out and election officials say that could boost turnout.
The rain was moving eastward out of the state Tuesday afternoon.
Secretary of State spokesman Chris Powell said turnout was already strong despite the weather and should rise during the afternoon and evening hours when people are getting off work.
Republicans Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio and Donald Trump are vying for Arkansas' 40 delegates in the first presidential primary since the GOP became the majority party in the state. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who served 12 years as Arkansas' first lady, hoped for a win in her adopted home state as she competed against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for the Democratic nomination.
1:05 p.m. update
Arkansas voters are appearing at voting precincts across the state to select their choice for president in Republican and Democratic presidential primary elections.
Voting at North Little Rock City Hall Tuesday, George and M'Liss Collins, who own a garden center, say they cast their ballots for former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary. M'Liss Collins says she thinks Clinton has the experience the nation needs.
James Wright, a software engineer, says he voted for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the Democratic primary. Wright says he supported Clinton in the Democratic primary in 2008, but said Sanders' message appealed to him more this year.
Wright says his message about trying to get money out of the political election system really would be good for the country.
11:30 a.m. update
Voters headed to the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in Arkansas' primary and judicial elections that have already drawn huge turnouts during early voting.
More than 191,000 votes were cast before election day and more were being cast Tuesday morning as a steady crowd of people came and went from Little Rock polling locations.
In the Heights, several voters said they were supporting Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
"She's the most experienced candidate, she knows everything by being Secretary of State and First Lady," said Jan Hundle, 57, as she walked out of her polling location at Little Rock Fire Station No. 10.
Clinton's experience was a common trait cited by her supporters, but detractors also said her years in Washington D.C. left them skeptical.
"I really was 50/50 and had a hard time picking between [Sen. Bernie Sanders] and Hillary," said Greg Baber, 31, after he ultimately chose the Vermont senator. "I think Clinton is just an extension of party politics up there."
In West Little Rock, several voters said they were choosing among the five remaining Republicans seeking wins in Tuesday's so-called "SEC" primary of southern states. Three of those candidates, Sens. Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, as well as Donald Trump, made a series of campaign stops over the past few days in central and Northwest Arkansas.
"Trump's a loudmouth and Cruz is dishonest," said Todd Harness, a 54-year-old from Little Rock who said he supported Rubio.
Creed Spann, 69, said he supported Trump more for the businessman's "mannerisms, not what he said."
"It's an anti-Washington vote, period," Spann said. His wife Leigh, 59, voted for Rubio.
"[Rubio is] intelligent, he can get things done an work both sides of the field," Leigh Spann said.
In addition to the presidential primaries that have captured national attention, Arkansas voters were asked to choose party nominees in local elections and a number of non-partisan judgeships.
Of the later, the race between Supreme Court Justice Courtney Goodson and Circuit Judge Dan Kemp for Supreme Court chief justice has drawn a considerable amount of attention and money. The Democrat-Gazette reported that both sides and outside groups have combined to spend $1 million in ads, many of them harshly critical of the candidates.
"I'm real skeptical about [Goodson] being Supreme Court Justice when you read about her husband and ethical issues," said Hundle, the Heights voter.
Minutes earlier, another voter walked out of the same polling location and offered a different view.
"Kemp didn't disavow the dark money," said the man, who declined to give his name. "If he was against it I'd be more inclined to vote for him."
— John Moritz, ArkansasOnline
9:38 a.m. update
LITTLE ROCK — Rain greeted Arkansas voters as polls opened in the state for the primary election for president and various state and local races.
Arkansas Secretary of State spokesman Chris Powell said Tuesday morning that it was too early to predict the turnout, but said the rain was expected to end around noon and that absentee voting has been strong.
Powell said nearly 200,000 voters cast early ballots, nearly double the number in 2012.
Powell said no major problems had been reported.
He said voters who are not sure of where to vote can find their information online at www.voterview.org.
- The Associated Press
7:30 a.m. update
LITTLE ROCK — Polls have opened in Arkansas for a presidential primary that has put Arkansas in the spotlight after lawmakers moved up the contest from May.
Polls opened at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and voters can cast ballots until 7:30 p.m. in the election. Arkansas is among about a dozen states holding nominating contests Tuesday.
Lawmakers moved up the state's primary last year, and Arkansas has been crowded with presidential visits during the past week. Republicans Donald Trump, Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio have all campaigned in the state, as has Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton.
The election features two nonpartisan races for the state Supreme Court, including a chief justice campaign that's been dominated by record spending by outside groups. It also includes several Republican legislative primaries that have centered on the state's hybrid Medicaid expansion.
- The Associated Press