LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - Thousands of Arkansans have cast their ballots on the first day of early voting ahead of the May 22 primary and non-partisan judicial election.
The secretary of state's office says more than 5,700 voters turned out as of Monday evening.
Secretary of State Mark Martin has predicted about 30 percent of Arkansas' 1.5 million registered voters will cast a ballot in this year's primary. More than a quarter of the votes in the 2010 primary were cast early.
With the Republican presidential nomination all but decided and no major statewide races, attention in the primary instead has shifted to congressional primaries in eastern and southern Arkansas along with a handful of heated legislative primaries.
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