Dozens Of Mayoral Seats Up For Grabs In Tuesday's Runoff Elections In Arkansas

By Antoinette Grajeda, Arkansas Advocate

December 5, 2022

Thirty-four mayoral races will be decided in Tuesday’s runoff election. Sixteen include incumbents like Linda Newbury in Union County. The Felsenthal mayor is facing Theresa Howard after both candidates received 24 votes in the general election.

More than 70 elections for mayoral, city council and school board positions are occurring in thirty-nine counties statewide.

There are no runoff elections for state or federal offices in Arkansas. County and municipal races result in a runoff whenever there are more than two candidates and no candidate receives a majority of the votes cast, according to state law.

The two candidates with the highest number of votes will compete in the runoff. If the two candidates tie in a runoff, the county board will determine the winner by lot at a public meeting.

To avoid a runoff, a candidate who receives 40% of the votes cast must obtain at least 20% more than the second-place candidate. Municipal officers do not include officers of cities that have a city manager form of government, so those races are not subject to the state’s runoff regulations.

Monday is the last day for early voting. Polling locations will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Polls are open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Election Day.

Visit www.voterview.ar-nova.org to find polling locations in your county.

The Arkansas Advocate is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization dedicated to tough, fair daily reporting and investigative journalism that holds public officials accountable and focuses on the relationship between the lives of Arkansans and public policy. This service is free to readers and other news outlets.