Jefferson County voters, like voters all over the U.S., will face a number of options in the Nov. 3 general election.
Aside from what candidates to vote for, they must decide where and when to cast their ballots -- whether to vote in-person on Election Day or during the preceding early voting period, or via mailed-in absentee ballots.
Last month, Gov. Asa Hutchinson issued an executive order allowing anyone who wishes to vote absentee because of fears about the coronavirus to be able to do so. Absentee ballot requirements and deadlines are available by contacting the Jefferson County clerk's office, the Arkansas secretary of state's office, or online at https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/elections/voter-information/absentee-voting.
According to a public notice of elections issued by the Jefferson County Election Commission, to prevent the spread of covid-19 -- the illness caused by the coronavirus -- voters are encouraged to request absentee ballots from the county clerk's office before an Oct. 27 deadline.
The commission said it will conduct a "no contact" election at the polls, with voters and poll workers required to maintain a minimum 6-foot distance from others. Voters will be encouraged to wear masks and children will not be allowed in polling sites.
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Although most races in Jefferson County were decided in the March Democratic and Republican primary elections, one nonpartisan judicial runoff will be decided in the November election, as will one Jefferson County Justice of the Peace race, and two Pine Bluff City Council races. Also to be decided are two Altheimer City Council races and one Wabbaseka City Council race.
In the nonpartisan judicial runoff race for circuit judge in District 11-West Division 3, Subdistrict 11.2, candidates Mac Norton and Therese Free will face off Nov. 3. Norton will appear first on the ballot and Free second, the same positions they had in the March primary.
According to Jefferson County Election Commissioner Stuart "Stu" Soffer, 89 of 171 precincts in Jefferson County will have the judicial runoff race on the ballot.
In Jefferson County District 8, incumbent Justice Roy Agee, 61, of Pine Bluff, a Republican, will face Libertarian challenger David Dinwiddie, 56, of Pine Bluff. In a drawing for ballot positions at the Jefferson County Election Commission office, Agee received the first position and Dinwiddie the second.
In the Pine Bluff Ward 2 Position 1 City Council race, Democrat Steven Shaner, 44, will face Independent challenger Yvonne Denton, 59. Shaner will appear first on the ballot, and Denton will be second.
In the Pine Bluff Ward 3 Position 1 City Council race, two former aldermen will face off Nov. 3. Democrat Glen Brown Sr., 63, who was defeated four years ago by Alderman Donald Hatchett, defeated Hatchett in the March primary to earn a place on the November ballot. Brown will face Independent Bill Brumett, 73. Brown received ballot position one and Brumett ballot position two.
In the Altheimer City Council District 1 Position 2 race, Joycette Laws Strong, 56, will face Jewel Vanderbilt, 64, in the nonpartisan race.
Strong will appear in the top ballot position and Vanderbilt will be second.
The Altheimer City Council District 2 Position 2 race pits Crystal Gridley, 40, against Essie Robertson, 65. Gridley will have the number one ballot position, and Robertson will have the second position.
In the Wabbaseka Ward 1 Position 1 City Council race, Melony J. Darrough, 57, will face Edward Spears Sr., 58. Darrough will be listed on the ballot in the first position, and Spears will be in the second.
A total of 13 candidates qualified for the ballot in the 2020 presidential race. Of the top two contenders, President Donald J. Trump, 74, heads the Republican ticket and will be listed on the ballot in position 12.
His Democratic Party rival, Joseph R. Biden, 77, will be listed at ballot position seven. In the number one ballot position will be Independent C.L. Gammon, 62, of Tennessee. Gammon previously ran for president in 2002 on the Prohibitionist Party ticket, according to his online biography at prohibitionists.org.
In the U.S. Senate race, Libertarian candidate Ricky Dale Harrington Jr., 34, of Pine Bluff, will have the number one ballot position as he opposes incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, 43, of Dardanelle.
The District 4 congressional race features a three-way contest. Republican Congressman Bruce Westerman, 52, of Hot Springs, drew the number one ballot position on the Jefferson County ballots. Westerman is being challenged by Democrat William H. Hanson of Hot Springs listed at number two on the ballot, and Libertarian Frank Gilbert of Grant County who will be in the number three ballot position.
In the race for the state Senate District 27 seat, Republican Sen. Trent Garner, 36, of El Dorado, will face Pine Bluff attorney Keidra Burrell, 41. Garner will be listed in the number one ballot position, and Burrell will be in the number two position.
Two state House of Representatives races will be on the ballot in Jefferson County. State House District 14 features a three-way race between Republican Rep. Roger Dale Lynch, 69, Democratic challenger Rick Bransford, 66, and Independent Christia Jones, 46, all of Lonoke. Jones will be in the number one position on the Jefferson County ballots. Bransford will be in number two position, and Lynch will be in the third position.
The District 15 House race will pit Republican Rep. Ken Bragg, 70, of Sheridan, in the number one ballot position, and Libertarian Wayne Willems of Traskwood in the second position.
Some Jefferson County ballots will also have annual millage elections for the Dollarway, Pine Bluff and Watson Chapel school districts.
Early voting, which will be available at the county clerk's office in the Jefferson County Courthouse at 101 W. Barraque St. in Pine Bluff, begins Oct. 19 and runs through Nov. 2. Early voting will be offered from 8 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Saturdays. Early voting ends at 5 p.m. on the Monday before the election.
Voting hours on Election Day at the 38 polling places in Jefferson County are 7:30 a.m. until 7:30 p.m.