In a few short hours Americans will go to the polls to vote. An overwhelming number of those voters will be interested in one race; the President of the United States. Although there is always a wide selections of candidates, most people agree that the contest will come down to a choice between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. For some people it will be as simple as deciding between Democrat and Republican, and others will decide on various factors. By the end of the night, if all goes well, the United States will have a new President-Elect. In small towns and counties like those in the Four States News area, many other elections will be decided as well.
Both Miller county and Bowie County will have their own small elections for local offices. A sample ballot for Bowie County can be seen here. Miller County will have a wide variety of ballots based on where you live. Miller County will also have “Vote Centers” that will allow voters to vote at any number of locations throughout the county. Because this writer lives in Miller County, a sheet is provided here with all the candidates except for city candidates: Elections 2016. There will be elections in all the surrounding counties as well in both Texas, Arkansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma.
Bowie county will have several state positions and a Fire Fighter Measure as the likely local hot issues. Miller County will see a new County Judge chosen between William Green and Roy John McNatt. A new sheriff will be chosen between David Slater and Jackie Runion. There will also be several county official positions for Justice of the Peace on the ballot as.
Over the past few weeks Green, McNatt, Slater, and Runion have all been making appeals with articles, interviews, signs, and videos across Facebook and other media. Unlike larger positions, these candidates often do not have the funding needed for major television advertising and they often depend on the Internet to allow videos and short messages to reach undecided voters. Currently Miller County has already seen over 9000 people early vote, or roughly 35% of the voting population in the county. The Republican and Democrat headquarters, both located in Texarkana, have seen last minute rushes for campaign material. Bill Poynter of the Miller County Republican Committee(MCRC) and Campaign Headquarters Coordinator reported that the MCRC is out of everything except for a few buttons and some bumper stickers.
With so much intensity brewing for the election, there have been rumors of unrest circulating the major news outlets based on who wins on the national level. Most reports that the Four States News is hearing on a local level is that there will not likely be any major problems or issues. Most people appear to know one or more, and often all the candidates, for a specific local office. They have indicated that they will simply be happy when it’s all over and decided. One thing about living in small towns like we have around the Four States News area, most people are friends and neighbors with supporters of different candidates, and most will wake up Wednesday morning and simply be happy to be living in small town USA.