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Arkansas local trial court judicial elections, 2018

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Arkansas held nonpartisan general elections for local judicial offices on May 22, 2018. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was March 1, 2018. For those offices in which no candidate received a majority of the votes cast, a runoff election took place on November 6, 2018.[1]

Ballotpedia provides comprehensive coverage of elections in America's 100 largest cities by population. This coverage extends to every office on the ballot for residents of these cities, including local trial court judges. Since this state did not have a city in the top 100, Ballotpedia did not cover local trial court judicial elections in this state in 2018. Click here to learn more about how the judges in this state are selected. Please consider donating to Ballotpedia to help us expand our coverage of these elections.

HIGHLIGHTS

  • In 2011, Arkansas began the process of restructuring its lower court systems. Prior to this move, the state had the following three trial court types: city courts, local district courts, and circuit courts.

  • On January 1, 2029, all of the local district courts will be converted to state district courts. The conversion process began in 2011 with a pilot group of courts, and more local courts were scheduled for conversion to the new system in 2013, 2017, 2021, and 2029.

  • The local district courts have county-wide jurisdictions; the new state district courts can have multicounty jurisdictions.

    • For more information about the 2018 appellate court elections in the state, click here.

    Election dates

    • March 1, 2018: Filing deadline for nonpartisan general election
    • May 22, 2018: Nonpartisan general election
    • November 6, 2018: Nonpartisan runoff election

    Election rules

    General election

    Judicial candidates compete in a nonpartisan general election. If no candidate wins a majority, the two candidates with the most votes participate in a runoff. If a runoff is required, it takes place on the same day as the general election for partisan races, and runoff candidates appear on the general election ballot.[2][3]

    Judicial selection

    District court

    See also: Nonpartisan elections

    District courts in Arkansas are divided between local district courts and state district courts. Local district courts feature part-time judges, while state district courts feature full-time judges. Judges of the Arkansas District Courts are each elected to four-year terms. The elections for this court are nonpartisan contested elections. To serve on this court, a judge must be at least 26 years old, a registered voter of their district, and have at least three years of experience practicing law.[4]

    Circuit court

    See also: Nonpartisan election of judges

    There are 122 judges on the Arkansas Circuit Courts, each elected to six-year terms. They compete in nonpartisan primaries (occurring at the same time as the primary elections for other state officials) in which the candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the vote wins the seat. If no candidate garners a majority of the vote, the top two candidates compete in a runoff during the general election.[5]

    The chief judge of each circuit court is chosen by supreme court appointment. He or she serves in that capacity for an indefinite period of time.[5]

    Qualifications
    To serve on this court, a judge must be:[5]

    • at least 28 years old;
    • of "good moral character;"
    • learned in the law;
    • a U.S. citizen;
    • a state resident for at least 2 years; and
    • a legal practitioner for at least 6 years.

    Pivot Counties

    See also: Pivot Counties by state

    One of 75 Arkansas counties—1.33 percent—is a Pivot County. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

    Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
    County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
    Woodruff County, Arkansas 8.91% 4.21% 7.46%

    In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Arkansas with 60.6 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 33.7 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Arkansas voted Democratic 66.67 percent of the time and Republican 30 percent of the time. In the five presidential elections between 2000 and 2016, Arkansas voted Republican all five times.

    See also

    Local courts Arkansas Other local coverage

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    External links

    Footnotes

    v • e

    2018 Elections for State and Local Courts
    State supreme courts
    State intermediate appellate courts
    Local trial courts