2022 ELECTION DAY: Arkansas voting live blog

Results from Issue 3 and control of the Arkansas General Assembly are not decided yet. Follow this link for results.10:53 p.m.: Final Washington County results have been updated on the web. 10:40 p.m.: Washington County voters have rejected a sales tax increase to help pay for a jail expansion.10:20 p.m.: Chris Jones is addressing supporters after The Associated Press projected he will lose the race for Arkansas governor to Sarah Huckabee Sanders. 9:40 p.m.: Rep. Steve Womack will return to Washington to serve a seventh term in office, The Associated Press projects.9:25 p.m.: Chris Jones said he will accept the outcome of the race once all the results are in.8:33 p.m.: Sarah Huckabee Sanders is delivering her victory speech. She joked she wants to replace her father as the best governor in the state.8:22 p.m.: We’re hearing that a Chris Jones concession speech may happen before Sanders gives a victory speech. The exact time is uncertain on each.8:00 p.m.: Sarah Huckabee Sanders is expected to give a victory speech at about 8:15 p.m. Chris Jones is expected to arrive at his election event at 8:45 p.m.7:33 p.m.: The Associated Press has called the governor’s race for Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the US Senate race for John Boozman.7:30 p.m.: The polls are now closed in Arkansas. People in line at 7:30 p.m. may still cast a ballot. Follow this link for election results.7:00 p.m.: The polls have now closed in Oklahoma. Follow this link for results.5:30 p.m.: There are two hours left to vote in Arkansas, where polls close at 7:30 p.m. Remember, if you’re in line at 7:30 p.m. you’ll be allowed to cast your ballot.Watch the live stream in the video player above.5:00 p.m.: Our reporters are giving live updates from Northwest Arkansas, the River Valley and in Little Rock, where many candidates have gathered. Watch the live stream in the video player above.4:15 p.m.: Candidates VoteThe three people competing to become the next governor of Arkansas have cast their ballots.Sarah Huckabee Sanders cast her vote at the Pleasant Valley Church of Christ in Little Rock at about 8:30 a.m. She was the only one of the three candidates to vote on Election Day.Chris Jones voted on Oct. 24, the first day of early voting.Ricky Dale Harrington Jr. also voted early.4:00 p.m.: Our reporters in the field are giving us live updates on Election Day.2:00 p.m.: Great time for votingBrad Kidder, an election judge in Sebastian County, said that if you come between noon and 4 p.m., your wait time should be very short.Even with a line outside the door in the morning, people were mostly in and out in under a few minutes.12:15 p.m.: Why We’re Voting40/29’s Jacob Murphy asked voters at the Springdale Civic Center why they had come to the polls.”Enacting my right as well as my responsibility and acting in my local elections as well as national,” Andrew Hanson said. “I think that a lot of people forget that it’s making your opinion heard, and it’s the small amount of engagement I get to have in the political process.”This is probably the most important midterm election in many, many decades,” Joyce Robertson said.Noon: Our reporters are giving us live updates. Livestream is in the video player above.11:15 a.m.: Sebastian County VotingVoters from across the area cast ballots at the Creekmore Park vote center, where 40/29’s Martin Lowrimore asked what brought them to the polls.”You don’t vote, you don’t have a voice,” Tara Sullivan said.”I think everyone should vote and stand up for what you believe in,” Mark Baker said. 10 a.m.: RedistrictingArkansas voters are seeing different state House and Senate districts on their ballots on Tuesday than they did in 2020.State redistricting was completed at the end of 2021. Due to the population increase in Northwest Arkansas, there were House and Senate seats added.9:30 a.m.: Races to WatchAndrew Dowdle, a professor at the University of Arkansas, talked with 40/29 News about the biggest races he’s watching. He said the results of the governor’s race and Issue 4 will get national attention. 9 a.m.: Voter ID rulesArkansans will need to have an approved photo ID to vote. It can’t be expired for more than four years.If you forgot your ID, you’ll fill out a provisional ballot. Then you’ll have until noon on Monday, Nov. 14, 2022 to bring your ID to the county clerk or election commissioners to have your vote count.We’ve created a guide to the state’s new voter ID laws at this link8:30 a.m.: Arkansas Making HistoryNo matter who Arkansans elect as governor, the state will have a historic first, as Arkansas will elect a woman or a Black candidate as governor for the first time.If Republican Sarah Sanders wins, she will become Arkansas’ first woman governor. Arkansas is one of 19 states that have had only men serve as governor. She would also become the first child of a former governor to win that office in Arkansas.When nuclear engineer Chris Jones won the primary, it marked the first time in state history either the Democratic or Republican parties had nominated a Black candidate for governor.Libertarian Ricky Dale Harrington secured his party’s nomination earlier this year, meaning two of the three gubernatorial candidates on November’s ballot will be Black.In 1920, Black businessman Josiah H. Blount attempted to run for governor on the Republican ticket, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. However, the party held its convention at a segregated hotel. Blount and his supporters were unable to attend and started their own party faction known as the “Black and Tans.”The secretary of the state put Blount on the ballot as an independent candidate. He came in third place with 8 percent of the vote.If Jones wins in November’s general election, he will become the first Black person elected governor in the state. Arkansas would become the 15th state in the country to elect a nonwhite governor.7:30 a.m.: Polls are open in ArkansasPolls across the state are open and will stay open until 7:30 p.m. You can vote in any vote center in the county you live in.We’ve made maps of those vote centers here.Voting lasts until 7:30 p.m. If you’re in line at 7:30 p.m., you should be allowed to cast a ballot.6 a.m.: Early voting numbersTurnout for early voting in Arkansas has been positive, ahead of today’s election. According to the Benton County Clerk’s Office, 56,523 voters cast their ballots early in the county. On Monday, November 7 alone, 7,501 ballots were submitted. In Washington County, thousands of voters have also submitted their choices already. “Last Midterms we did about 50% overall voter turnout,” said Jennifer Price, Washington County Director of Elections. “So if we keep on the level of numbers of voters we’re seeing right now, we definitely expect to reach that 50% voter turnout. Now, we do have more voters casting their ballots, but we have more registered voters. So you really need to look at the percentages and not just the overall number of voters who are casting their ballots.”12:01 a.m.: It’s election day!Arkansas voters will cast ballots as soon as polling places open at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.You can get information about what’s on the ballot here.