Cabot Public School District elections (2017)
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Two seats on the Cabot Public School District school board in Arkansas were up for by-district general election on September 19, 2017. In his bid for re-election to the Position 3 seat, incumbent Mark D. Russell was defeated by challenger Marvin Jones. Position 7 incumbent Ricky Hill did not file to run for re-election, which left the seat open for a newcomer. Joe Trusty was the only candidate to file to run for the seat, and he won the election.[1][2]
The 2017 election was the first time in four election cycles that a seat on the ballot had competition. Click here to read more about election trends in the district.
Elections
Voter and candidate information
The Cabot school board consists of seven members elected to five-year terms. Elections are held by district on a staggered basis so that one or two seats are on the ballot every year in September.[3][4]
School board candidates had to be U.S. citizens and residents of the school district and electoral zone they sought to represent. They could not be employees of the school district or have been convicted of "embezzlement of public money, bribery, forgery, or other infamous crime," according to the Arkansas Constitution. To get on the ballot, school board candidates had to file nomination paperwork, which included a petition with signatures from 20 registered voters in the school district, with their county clerk by noon on July 11, 2017.[5][6][7]
To vote in this election, citizens of the school district had to register by August 21, 2017.[7] Photo identification was not required to vote in Arkansas.[8]
Candidates and results
Position 3
Results
| Cabot Public School District, Position 3 General Election, 5-year term, 2017 |
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| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
 Marvin Jones |
65.86% | 490 |
| Mark D. Russell Incumbent | 34.14% | 254 |
| Total Votes | 744 | |
| Source: Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with Lonoke County Clerk," September 20, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Mark D. Russell | Marvin Jones 
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Position 7
Results
| Cabot Public School District, Position 7 General Election, 5-year term, 2017 |
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|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Joe Trusty (unopposed) |
100.00% | 622 |
| Total Votes | 622 | |
| Source: Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with Lonoke County Clerk," September 20, 2017 | ||
Candidates
| Joe Trusty
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Additional elections on the ballot
- See also: Arkansas elections, 2017
The Cabot school board election did not share the ballot with any other elections.
Key deadlines
The following dates were key deadlines for Arkansas school board elections in 2017:[7][9]
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| July 5, 2017 - July 11, 2017 | Candidate filing period |
| August 21, 2017 | Voter registration deadline for general election |
| September 10, 2017 | Voter registration deadline for runoff election |
| September 12, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline for general election |
| September 12, 2017 - September 18, 2017 | Early voting period for general election |
| September 19, 2017 | General election date |
| October 3, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline for runoff election |
| October 3, 2017 - October 9, 2017 | Early voting period for runoff election |
| October 10, 2017 | Runoff election date (if needed) |
| October 30, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline for general election |
| November 30, 2017 | Campaign finance reporting deadline for runoff election |
Endorsements
Do you know of an official or organization that endorsed a candidate in this race? Let Ballotpedia know by email at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Campaign finance
The Lonoke County Clerk does not publish and freely disclose school board candidate campaign finance reports. If you have any information regarding the campaign finance disclosures in this race, please contact the school board elections team at editor@ballotpedia.org.
Reporting requirements
School board candidates in Arkansas had to file two campaign finance reports for the general election. The first report was due on September 12, 2017, and the second report was due on October 30, 2017.[9]
If a runoff election was held for any seat, the candidates who ran in that election had to file an additional two reports. The first report for the runoff election was due on October 3, 2017, and the second report for the runoff election was due on November 30, 2017.[9]
Past elections
To see results from past elections in the Cabot Public School District, click here.
What was at stake?
Report a story for this election
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Election trends
- See also: School boards in session: 2015 in brief
The 2017 election for the Cabot school board was the first time in four election cycles that a seat on the ballot had competition. In the district's 2014, 2015, and 2016 elections, every seat on the ballot was unopposed. In 2017, one of the two seats up for election was unopposed. Two candidates ran for the other seat. In 2013, the district also saw two candidates run for one seat.
A newcomer was guaranteed to win a seat on the board in 2017 due to an open seat, and another defeated an incumbent to win election to the board. One newcomer was elected to the board in the district's previous four election cycles. She ran unopposed and won an open seat in 2015.
| School board election trends | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | Unopposed seats | Incumbents running for re-election | Incumbent success rate | Seats won by newcomers | |
| Cabot Public School District | ||||||
| 2017 | 1.50 | 50.00% | 50.00% | 0.00% | 100.00% | |
| 2016 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2015 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 0.00% | N/A | 100.00% | |
| 2014 | 1.00 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| 2013 | 2.00 | 0.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% | 0.00% | |
| Arkansas | ||||||
| 2016 | 1.11 | 31.58% | 36.84% | 85.71% | 68.42% | |
| 2015 | 1.45 | 54.55% | 81.82% | 77.78% | 36.36% | |
| 2014 | 1.45 | 54.55% | 72.73% | 62.50% | 54.55% | |
| United States | ||||||
| 2016 | 1.90 | 34.05% | 71.31% | 82.39% | 41.04% | |
| 2015 | 1.72 | 35.95% | 70.37% | 82.66% | 40.81% | |
| 2014 | 1.89 | 32.57% | 75.51% | 81.31% | 38.24% | |
Candidate survey
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About the district
- See also: Cabot Public School District, Arkansas
The Cabot Public School District is located in Lonoke County in central Arkansas. The county seat is Lonoke. Lonoke County was home to an estimated 72,228 residents in 2016, according to the United States Census Bureau.[10] The district was the seventh-largest school district in the state in the 2014-2015 school year and served 10,407 students.[11]
Demographics
Lonoke County outperformed Arkansas as a whole in terms of median household income and poverty rate between 2010 and 2015. The median household income in the county was $53,631, compared to $41,371 statewide. The county's poverty rate was 11.9 percent, while it was 19.1 for the entire state. During the same time period, the United States Census Bureau found that 19.1 percent of Lonoke County residents aged 25 years and older had attained a bachelor's degree, compared to 21.1 percent of state residents.[10]
| Racial Demographics, 2010-2016[10] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Race | Lonoke County (%) | Arkansas (%) |
| White | 90.2 | 79.4 |
| Black or African American | 6.1 | 15.7 |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.7 | 1.0 |
| Asian | 1.0 | 1.6 |
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander | 0.1 | 0.3 |
| Two or More Races | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| Hispanic or Latino | 4.4 | 7.3 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Cabot Public School District Arkansas election. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Cabot Public School District | Arkansas | School Boards |
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External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with Lonoke County Clerk," July 12, 2017
- ↑ Abbey Smith, "Phone communication with Lonoke County Clerk," September 20, 2017
- ↑ Cabot Public School District, "Board Bios & Contacts," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ Arkansas School Boards Association, "School Board Members: School Board Elections," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ Arkansas School Boards Association, "School Board Members: Board Candidates," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ 2015 Arkansas Code, "§ 6-14-111 - Candidate filing procedures," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Arkansas Secretary of State, "2017 Annual September School Board Election Dates," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Voting In Arkansas," accessed July 10, 2017
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 2016 Arkansas Code, "§ 7-6-208 (2016)," accessed July 24, 2017
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 United States Census Bureau, "QuickFacts: Lonoke County, Arkansas; Arkansas," accessed July 11, 2017
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Common Core of Data, file ccd_lea_052_1414_w_0216161a, 2014-2015," accessed November 16, 2016
| Cabot Public School District elections in 2017 | |
| Lonoke County, Arkansas | |
| Election date: | September 19, 2017 |
| Candidates: | Position 3: • Incumbent, Mark D. Russell • Marvin Jones Position 7: • Joe Trusty |
| Important information: | What was at stake? • Additional elections on the ballot • Key deadlines |
