Arkansas

October 12, 2018 - A look at the South's major state and federal elections this year, and how a Democratic surge could shift regional politics for years to come.

October 11, 2018 - The same secret-money group that pushed the U.S Senate to confirm Justice Brett Kavanaugh is dominating spending in judicial elections in Arkansas and elsewhere in the South. In some states, justices are looking to be re-elected with the help of campaign cash from corporations and law firms that have business before the courts.

October 9, 2018 - Tuesday, Oct. 9 is the voter registration deadline in more than half of the states in the South. The deadline looms as dozens of key races for Congress, governor and other contests are expected to be decided by razor-thin margins, and interest in the November mid-terms grows among Republicans.

September 26, 2018 - After former Confederate states drafted progressive constitutions that allowed black men to hold office for the first time, there was violent resistance to black power at the local level. During the Jim Crow era, legislatures rewrote those constitutions to give themselves broad power to override local governments.

September 12, 2018 - Corporate-backed supporters of the tort reform amendment, as well as its opponents, are gearing up to spend millions to influence voters' decision in November. But a state court recently struck down the amendment and ordered officials not to count the votes.

August 2, 2018 - State supreme court seats across the South are up for grabs this year, and contributions are pouring into partisan races. What does the research tell us about the effects of big-money politics on the judiciary?

July 20, 2018 - With President Trump nominating a judge with a record of hostility to voting rights to the U.S. Supreme Court, state courts and constitutions are likely to play an increasingly critical role in protecting those rights — but those institutions are under political assault by conservatives.