The final tallies for the Pike County primary election conducted on Tuesday, May 24 have been announced by Pike County Clerk Randee Reid following their certification last Friday by the Pike County Election Commission.
Of the 5,702 total registered voters in Pike County, 2,312 voters cast a ballot, some 40.54 percent, which ranked third in the state behind Searcy (44.41%) and Montgomery (43.19%) counties. Statewide only 25.94% of registered voters cast a ballot in the election.
As of Sunday, Pike was also only one of two counties (Grant) to have certified the election, speaking to the efficiency of the local election process.
Of the participating voters 2,101 participated via a Republican ballot, while 203 cast a Democratic ballot and seven voters participated via the non-partisan choice. Almost half of the voters — 1,130 — cast their ballots in the two week early voting process as opposed to the 1,142 that waited until election day to participate, while 40 voters participated via absentee ballots.
According to Reid, there will be no run-off elections needed in Pike County next month, while several surrounding counties will have to utilize the process.
In the exclusively Pike County elections, Travis Hill was able to collect approximately two-thirds of the vote over Roger “Bimbo” Flemens for the Pike County Sheriff and Collector position. Hill received 62.64% of the electorate (1,306 votes) versus Flemens’ 37.36% (779 votes).
In the Republican Pike County Assessor election, Staci Stewart received 62.34% of the vote (1,255 votes) versus challenger Laramie Littles’ 37.66% (758 votes).
Chris Thompson garnered 64.48% of the vote (614 votes) for Mountain Township Constable on the Republican ballot in northern Pike County, versus Glen Hankins’ 35.16% (333 votes).
In the hotly contested race for 9-West prosecuting attorney, Jana Bradford won Pike County by a 67.26% (1,518) amount over Mickey Buchanan’s 32.74% (739). She would also win the overall race that also included Little River, Howard and Sevier Counties to take the position by a 57.59% (5,038) to 42.41% (3,710) margin.
School Board Zone 7
South Pike County
Alyssa Duggan — 63.69%, 107 votes
Desmon Dixon — 36.31%, 61 votes
School Board Zone 3
Centerpoint
Dale Sutton — 83.16%, 79 votes
Clinton Arnold — 16.84%, 16 votes
School Board Zone 1
Dierks
Justin Simmons — 54.14%, 72 votes
Marci Harrison — 45.86%, 61 votes
In the county’s school district voting, the school tax received a majority negative vote for Kirby (55.57%), Centerpoint (56.42%), South Pike County (56.67%), Nashville (85.71%) and Dierks (64.84%), despite it holding no impact on the current millage collected. The only way a negative vote would impact the collections is if any of the schools held a new millage rate for referendum.
Reid said the biggest issue of the election amongst voters was with those who has incurred an address change, making them ineligible to vote. While she notes that it does cause major aggravation for those attempting to vote, she suggests that those that have not received a voter identification in the mail from her office with a new address to double check with the office at (870) 285-2743 that their registration is complete.
She also said that some who registered at the DMV had been lost in the mail and arrived too late for the election after being funneled through the Secretary of State’s office in Little Rock.
The next election date for Pike County residents is set for Nov. 8’s general election. The registration deadline for those not registered to vote to participate in the process is Monday, October 10. Those who are registered to vote in another county or need to change their address must update their files by November 4.
The petition circulation period for municipal candidates has officially begun and will run through the filing period close.
Candidates must obtain the signatures of at least ten registered voters within their municipality limits.
The filing period for them will begin at noon on Aug. 3 and will close at noon on Aug. 10.
Those municipal positions up for election in 2022 will include the following:
City of Glenwood: Mayor, NW Position 2 Alderman, SW Position 2 Alderman
City of Murfreesboro: Mayor, NW, SW, WW Positions 1 and 2 (six total)
Town of Antoine: Mayor, Recorder/Treasurer, Alderman Positions 1-5
Town of Daisy: Mayor, Recorder/Treasurer, Alderman Positions 1-5
Town of Delight: Mayor, Recorder/Treasurer, Alderman Positions 1-5
