Runoff draws early voters

Tuesday’s U. S. House 4th Congressional District Democratic runoff between Hot Springs attorney Q. Byrum Hurst and State Sen. Gene Jeffress, of Louann, has attracted more early voters than expected to the polls here, Garland County Election Commission Chairwoman Ginna Watson said.

Early voting in the June 12 runoffs began Tuesday. Watson said that by Thursday nearly 400 early voters had cast ballots at the county’s three early voting locations.

“Tuesday we were much busier than expected. We were averaging 20 early voters an hour, which is pretty good,” she said.

The winner of the runoff will face Republican Tom Cotton, of Dardanelle, in the Nov. 6 general election to succeed U. S. Rep. Mike Ross, D- District 4 who has chosen not to seek a seventh term. He was first elected in 2000.

Watson said the runoff between Republicans Brian L. Wilson and Drew Hudgens for their party’s nomination to the Garland County Quorum Court District 10 seat being vacated by Sue Vaughn has drawn substantially fewer early voters. The winner of that runoff will face Democrat Kathy Allen in the Nov. 6 general election.

“On Tuesday, of the first 100 voters, 99 voted in the congressional race and only one voted in the JP 10 race,” Watson said.

Early voting sites for the runoffs are the Garland County Election Commission, 649A Ouachita Ave., National Park Community College, 109 Mid- America Blvd., and the Hot Springs Village Chamber of Commerce, 4585 N. Highway 7.

Early voting at the GCEC headquarters will be 8 a. m. to 5 p. m.,

today and Monday. Early voting at NPCC and the Hot Springs Village Chamber of Commerce will be 10 a. m. to 4 p. m., on the same days. There will be no voting on Saturday at any of the early voting locations.

All 26 county polling locations will be open from 7: 30 a. m. to 7: 30 p. m. for the June 12 election because of the U. S. House race.