Baker and Wood qualified for the nonpartisan judicial runoff election for the chief justice post by garnering more votes than Supreme Court Justice Barbara Webb and attorney Jay Martin in the March 5 election, though none of the candidates won a majority of the votes in the judicial general election.

House District 63 in West Memphis is one of the few areas where Republicans think they can expand their super-majority. With the GOP holding 82 of the state House of Representatives 100 seats, there are only a few seats left that Republicans think they can flip in the Nov. 5 general election.

Seven of the 54 contested races for seats in the Arkansas House of Representatives this November are open, meaning no incumbent is running. All 100 seats in the Arkansas Legislature’s lower chamber are up for election every two years.

Half of the 35 members of the Arkansas Senate are up for election this November, seven of them in contested races. The Senate is the upper branch of the state’s bicameral legislature, known formally as the General Assembly.

SPRINGDALE -- First-term state Rep. Rebecca Burkes, R-Springdale, faces her 2022 Democratic opponent, Rey Hernandez, again this election year. Burkes won their 2022 contest with 61% of the vote. Hernandez said he learned from the last campaign and was overconfident then.

The deadline to register in Arkansas is Oct. 7. Registering online is not an option in Arkansas. Miller County Election Administrator Linda Crawford says one of the easiest ways to register to vote is at the county clerk's office.

FILE - Dorothy Ward, left, and Eyvonda Marbley cast their votes on the first day of early voting in the Arkansas state primary runoff elections on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Stephen Swofford)

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- An effort to expand Arkansas' medical marijuana program fell short of the required signatures and won't qualify for the November ballot, Secretary of State John Thurston said Monday. Arkansans for Patient Access, the group behind the measure, said it planned to take legal action to appeal Thurston's decision.

The plaintiffs are convention leader Jennifer Lancaster and nearly two dozen other delegates to the convention. They filed their complaint Aug. 26 against Republican Party of Arkansas Chairman Joseph Wood and Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston, and filed a preliminary injunction motion Sept. 15.

The House first considered the resolution, passing it in a 341-82 vote. Arkansas Reps. Rick Crawford, French Hill and Steve Womack joined 132 other Republicans in backing the legislation. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., opposed the bill.

Voters in Arkansas will join the rest of the nation Nov. 5 in casting ballots for U.S. president. They will also vote on Arkansas congressional races and contested statewide races for Arkansas Supreme Court chief justice and state treasurer, as well as a number of legislative races. Early voting begins Oct. 21.