Despite Thursday’s near-constant rainfall in East Arkansas, rural Delta counties’ few early voting locations were almost never empty.

Residents of Crittenden, Lee and Phillips counties showed up to make their voices heard in next week’s local, state and federal elections. Lee and Phillips counties have one early voting site each, at their respective county courthouses.

Crittenden County has three early voting locations after the Arkansas Supreme Court ended a dispute between voters and local officials by ordering that early voting must occur at two West Memphis churches. The third site is in Marion, the county seat.

One of the two churches, the Seventh Street Church of Christ, saw about 90 early voters between 4:30 and 6 p.m. Wednesday, poll worker Gwen Freeman said Thursday morning.

Unlike in a few North Arkansas counties, voters in the Delta haven’t been expressing doubt about the security of the machines they use to vote, according to poll workers in all three Delta counties, including Freeman.

When voters have questions for poll workers, they’re often about judicial candidates or proposed state constitutional amendments, first-time poll worker Lawrence Carter said.

“They have a lot of questions about the Supreme Court nominees because they really don’t know who they are,” Carter said. “…Most people vote [entirely] Democrat or Republican, but they can’t because the Supreme Court is neither one of those.”

First-time voters — some of whom are older rather than newly eligible young people — also tend to have questions about how to use the voting machines, Carter said.

Poll workers in Lee County said they’ve gotten some of the same questions about voting machines and the three constitutional amendments. Outside the courthouse’s “small courtroom” with its three voting machines, poll workers taped copies of all 24 possible ballots Lee County voters can receive depending on where they live, with the goal of helping people understand their ballots before they walk into the room.

About 25% of Lee County’s registered voters had already voted by Thursday afternoon, poll workers Donna Westbrook and Vivian Humbert said. Early voting began statewide on Oct. 21.

Meanwhile in Helena-West Helena in Phillips County, poll workers have seen roughly 250 voters per day, which is typical for a presidential election year, poll worker Linda Hayden said.

No one from the State Board of Election Commissioners was present at the Phillips County Courthouse Thursday afternoon, but Phillips County is one of several counties that the board is monitoring during early voting and will continue to monitor on Election Day.

SBEC monitored Phillips and Lee counties during the 2022 election; the board is monitoring Crittenden County but not Lee County this year.

Voters’ priorities

Voters in all three counties said the most important matter on their ballot was the presidential race between Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and Republican former President Donald Trump.

John Cummings of West Memphis said he is a lifelong Democrat and supported both Harris and state legislative candidate Jessie McGruder. West Memphis has two state House seats, and both have contested races with no incumbents.

Rosie Staples of Helena-West Helena said she also voted for Harris, largely out of concern over the cost of living and access to healthcare.

“I think the best choice is the person that can reduce those costs,” Staples said. “…You can’t trust politicians, period, but you just hope for the best.”

Stone Robbins, also of Helena-West Helena, said his top priority was “Trump all the way.”

“His track record from 2016 to 2020 versus [President Joe] Biden’s track record from 2020 to now is incomparable,” Robbins said.

Randy Bradshaw of Marianna said he also supports Trump. He called the current state of the economy “pitiful” and said he believes current leaders are allowing illegal immigrants and drugs to flow into the country.

“I’m not a Democrat or a Republican,” Bradshaw said. “It don’t matter who is on the ticket. It’s who I think can do the job better… I care about the welfare of my family, myself and everyone else in the United States.”

Bradshaw and his wife voted just before a 1:30 p.m. influx of voters that created a line out the door of the room with the voting machines.

Kerry Stiles, also of Marianna, was part of that line. She said the second-most important race on her ballot was the one for Arkansas House District 62.

Incumbent Rep. Mark McElroy, R-Tillar, faces a rematch against his previous Democratic opponent, Dexter Miller of Helena-West Helena. In 2022, McElroy won by fewer than 200 votes in a newly-drawn district and had previously represented an almost entirely different part of the Delta.

Stiles is a farmer, and she said she supported McElroy for reelection because he is “a big supporter of farmers.”

Her occupation also made it important for her to vote for Issue 1, she said. The proposed constitutional amendment would allow state lottery proceeds to fund scholarships and grants to students in vocational-technical schools and institutions, and Stiles said she believes Arkansas needs more people trained in vo-tech fields.

Two other constitutional amendments are on Arkansans’ ballots, though the votes for Issue 3 will not be counted. The measure would have made changes to the state’s medical marijuana industry; Robbins said he supported it, while Bradshaw said he opposed it.

Teresa Ball said one of her priorities was Issue 2. She recently moved to Fairfield Bay but voted Thursday in Marianna because she is still registered there. 

Issue 2 would repeal a Pope County casino license and require countywide special elections for any new casinos built in Arkansas.

“That should be on the ballot, and it should not just be big money that buys [casinos],” Ball said.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — — Jaxson Dart set Ole Miss records for yards passing and touchdown throws in a single game, leapfrogging Matt Corral and Eli Manning, in the 19th-ranked Rebels’ dominating 63-31 win over Arkansas on Saturday.

Dart threw four scores and 321 yards in just the first half. He found Jordan Watkins on three of the TDs, including one for 62 yards and another for 66 on back-to-back drives. They were just three offensive plays apart. Dart ultimately finished 25 of 31 passing for 515 yards with six touchdowns.

“It’s pretty cool and unique to have this opportunity. I thought (offensive coordinator Charlie) coach Weis called a hell of a game today and put us in position,” Dart said.

Ole Miss (7-2, 3-2 Southeastern Conference) led 35-10 at halftime after scoring on three straight drives over the first and second quarters. The Rebels opened and closed the first-half scoring when Princely Umanmielen pounced on a Taylen Green fumble in the end zone midway through the first quarter and Dart capped things with a three-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Watkins with five seconds left in the half, his fourth passing score in the game’s first half-hour.

“That’s just a really good job by a lot of people. Just a clean offensive game,” Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin said. “And then having no turnovers, one sack. Just really, I told them, I’m just excited that I see them play like they can play as a team even without some players.”

Arkansas (5-4, 3-3 SEC) had stuffed the Rebels at the goal line on the Rebels’ first drive for about the only meaningful stop the Razorbacks had all game. Ole Miss racked up 694 yards of total offense. In all, Ole Miss scored on seven of its nine possessions with its starters in the game, only punting once in that span.

Arkansas coach Sam Pittman went largely with reserves starting about halfway through the third quarter. Back-up quarterback Malachi Singleton was 11 of 14 passing for 207 yards with a touchdown pass and he ran for another 39 yards with a touchdown. The Razorbacks also scored rushing touchdowns from Rashod Dubinion and Rodney Hill.

“Very disappointed. Felt like we had them ready to play,” Pittman said. “Obviously that wasn’t the case.”

Watkins also set school records with five touchdown catches and 254 yards receiving. Dae’Quan Wright caught the other Dart touchdown pass and added another from Austin Simmons in the fourth quarter.

Short runs

Arkansas and Ole Miss had alternated wins and losses in the past five games against each other. The Rebels have now won two straight, but neither team has won more than two in a row against the other since Arkansas won four straight from 2004-07. Ole Miss hasn’t won three in a row against the Razorbacks since 1990-93.

Down one

Ole Miss wide receiver Tre Harris missed his second straight game after suffering a leg injury against LSU. Kiffin was especially impressed his team could have such an offensive performance without Harris.

“You’re playing without the best receiver in the country, so to design the plays, a lot of different type of plays and guys wide open, really good rhythm,” Kiffin said.

Big picture

Ole Miss can not only play spoiler against No. 2 Georgia next week, but should find itself in conversation for the College Football Playoff by doing so.

Arkansas has already eclipsed its win total from last year, though the Razorbacks remain one win short of bowl eligibility, solidly in the middle of the SEC.

Up next

Ole Miss hosts No. 2 Georgia on Nov. 9.

Arkansas has a bye next week before returning on Nov. 16 to host No. 6 Texas.

——

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It’s that time of the year, everyone. High school football games kicked off throughout the state of Arkansas Oct. 31-Nov. 2 and there was plenty of great action taking place.

The No. 1 team in the Natural State remains Bryant then followed by Conway followed by Greenwood and Little Rock Parkview.

Here’s the complete breakdown of Arkansas’ elite high school football teams, heading into Week 9 of the 2024 season, as we see it.

Senior quarterback Jordan Walker has been arguably the state’s top passer all season long, completing 83-of-136 passes for 1,682 yards, 28 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Move over, the Wampus Cats are the state’s second ranked team as they have yet to drop a game this season. Up next is a tilt against is a showdown with No. 1 Bryant. Get your popcorn ready.

Nobody has played better under center in the state of Arkansas than Kane Archer of Greenwood. The quarterback has thrown for 2,708 yards, 43 touchdowns and one interception.

Parkview’s lone loss of the season is a 30-10 decision to No. 1 team in Bryant. The Patriots finishes up the season with Camden Fairview.

This Pulaski Academy team’s only two losses have come against Bryant and Conway. Both of those clubs are ranked 1-2 in these rankings.

The Panthers are averaging a cool 51.4 points per game through nine games played this season. Now Benton will gear up for a road date versus Marion.

Since a Sep. 20th loss to Lee’s Summit North, Bentonville has won six straight games.

We know the Warriors have three losses, but all of them have come up against teams ahead of them in these rankings I.E. Bryant, Conway and Shiloh Christian.

The Bombers ever since losing 37-13 to Shiloh Christian have responded with a four-game winning streak. Wins have come over Russellville, Siloam Springs, Lake Hamilton and Van Buren.

The Rockets suffered their first loss of the season against a very good Benton team, 42-0. Catholic bounced back last week against Marion with a 23-14 victory.

Tyson Bradden has done a nice job taking care of the football and producing plenty of points. The senior has thrown for over 1,300 yards and 19 touchdown passes this season.

Marion drops down a few spots after falling to Little Rock Catholic, 23-14. They’ll look to bounce back this week against No. 6 Benton.

Drew Gartman has been the team’s workhorse out of the backfield, scoring a team-high 19 rushing touchdowns along with 1,085 yards.

Another week and another Elks’ win to remain undefeated. Elkins rolled to a 35-21 victory over Gravette last week.

The Bulldogs made it two wins in a row with a 42-0 trouncing of Rogers Heritage.

We leave Hot Springs Lakeside right where they’re at after a 28-12 loss to Parkview. The Rams will finish the regular season with Hot Springs.

Rogers bounced back from a loss to Fayetteville with a 70-42 defeat of Har-Ber last week.

Back to back losses to Greenwood and Mountain Home had us dropping Lake Hamilton down the ranks a bit. Lake Hamilton came up with a big win over Shiloh Christian last week.

The Bulldogs dropped their third game of the year in a loss to Bentonville. Springdale is another team we won’t drop as they faced one of the state’s top tier clubs.

Griffin Mason has proven himself as one of the state’s top running backs this season, carrying the rock 213 times for 1,356 yards and scoring 13 touchdowns.

In one of the wildest games of the season the Cardinals pulled off a thrilling 78-75 victory over Morrilton a couple weeks ago.

The Comets just keep winning and their latest victory was a 49-7 throttling of Central Arkansas Christian last week.

The Badgers make their way back into the rankings after winning six straight games, including two shutouts. Only two losses have come to Camden Fairview and Lake Hamilton.

The Lions pulling off a 33-29 upset win over Prescott last week vaults them into our rankings last week. Can Bismarck finish the season at 10-0?

With the Sand Lizards only loss of the season coming against No. 14-ranked Elkins, Dardanelle makes its debut in this week’s rankings.

Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school football news.

To get live updates on your phone – as well as follow your favorite teams and top games – you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App

— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveark