Editing Ashley County, Arkansas (section)

==Government and politics==
{{see also|Government of Arkansas|County judge|Quorum Court}}
The county government is a constitutional body granted specific powers by the [[Constitution of Arkansas]] and the [[Arkansas Code]]. The quorum court is the legislative branch of the county government and controls all spending and revenue collection. Representatives are called ''justices of the peace'' and are elected from county districts every even-numbered year. The number of districts in a county vary from nine to fifteen based on population, and district boundaries are drawn by the Ashley County Election Commission. The Ashley County Quorum Court has nine members.<ref>{{cite web |title= Ashley County |url= http://www.arcounties.org/counties/ashley/ |publisher= Association of Arkansas Counties |access-date= April 30, 2017 }}</ref> Presiding over quorum court meetings is the ''county judge'', who serves as the [[chief operating officer]] of the county. The county judge is elected at-large and does not vote in quorum court business, although capable of vetoing quorum court decisions.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title= Quorum Courts |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=6348 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= [[Butler Center for Arkansas Studies]] at the [[Central Arkansas Library System]] |date= March 24, 2014 |last= Teske |first= Steven |access-date= January 23, 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |title= Office of County Judge |url= http://www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=5720 |encyclopedia= [[Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture]] |publisher= Butler Center for Arkansas Studies at the Central Arkansas Library System |date= August 28, 2015 |last= Goss |first= Kay C. |access-date= January 23, 2016 }}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+Ashley County, Arkansas Elected countywide officials<ref>{{Cite web |date=2019-04-15 |title=County Officials {{!}} Ashley County |url=https://www.ashleycountyar.com/county-officials/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Ashley {{!}} Association of Arkansas Counties |url=https://www.arcounties.org/counties/ashley/ |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=www.arcounties.org}}</ref><ref name=":1">https://www.arcounties.org/site/assets/files/6033/november_races.pdf</ref>
!Position
!Officeholder
!Party
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|County Judge
|Jim Hudson
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|County Clerk
|Christie Martin
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#999999;
|Circuit Clerk
|Vickie Stell
|Independent
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Sheriff
|Tommy Sturgeon
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Treasurer
|Stacey Breshears
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#92C5DE;
|Collector
|Lori Pennington
|Democratic
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Assessor
|Beth Rush
|Republican
|-style="background-color:#F48882;
|Coroner
|Keith Medders
|Republican
|}
The composition of the Quorum Court following the 2024 elections is 7 Republicans, 1 Democrat, and 1 Independent. Justices of the Peace (members) of the Quorum Court following the elections are:<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Ashley County, Arkansas, elections, 2024 |url=https://ballotpedia.org/Ashley_County,_Arkansas,_elections,_2024 |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=Ballotpedia |language=en}}</ref>

* District 1: Ron Miller (I)
* District 2: Billy Pippen (D)
* District 3: Jimmy Pennington (R)
* District 4: Rickey Nelms (R)
* District 5: Jeff Langley (R)
* District 6: Ronald D. Wheeler (R)
* District 7: Rhonda Pippen (R)
* District 8: Bob Rush (R)
* District 9: Greg Sivils (R)

Additionally, the townships of Ashley County are entitled to elect their own respective constables, as set forth by the [[Constitution of Arkansas]]. Constables are largely of historical significance as they were used to keep the peace in rural areas when travel was more difficult.<ref>{{Cite web |title=What is a Constable? |url=https://www.uaex.uada.edu/business-communities/ced-blog/posts/2022/may/what-is-a-constable.aspx |access-date=2025-04-29 |website=What is a Constable? |language=en}}</ref> The township constables as of the 2024 elections are:<ref name=":2" />

* Egypt: Frankie Tanksley (R)
* Extra: James L. Austin (D)
* Millcreek: Dwight Smitty (R)

=== Presidential Elections ===
Since the mid-20th century, Ashley County has transitioned from reliably [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] to steady [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] in national, state and local elections. Ashley County was part of the [[Solid South]], a period of Democratic hegemony which began after [[Reconstruction Era|Reconstruction]] following the [[American Civil War|Civil War]]. This resulted essentially in a [[one-party system]], in which a candidate's victory in Democratic primary elections was [[tantamount to election]] to the office itself. The Solid South [[Southern Democrats#Losing the South|started to dissolve]] following the [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|Civil Rights Act in 1964]], which is when Ashley County's streak of supporting Democratic candidates ended. Republican presidential candidate support continued to grow after 1964, though Ashley County strongly supported fellow Southerners in Presidential elections: [[Alabama]] [[List of Governors of Alabama|Governor]] [[George Wallace]] in [[1968 United States presidential election|1968]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] [[List of Governors of Georgia|Governor]] [[Jimmy Carter]] in [[1976 United States presidential election|1976]], fellow Arkansan [[Bill Clinton]] in [[1992 United States presidential election|1992]] and [[1996 United States presidential election|1996]], and [[Al Gore]] in [[2000 United States presidential election|2000]]. By the [[2004 United States presidential election|2004 election]], the county narrowly supported [[George W. Bush]], but subsequently supported [[Barack Obama]]'s opponents and [[Donald Trump]] by large margins.<ref name="pol" >{{cite web |first= David |last= Leip |title= Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections |url= http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/ |access-date= December 5, 2016 }}</ref>

===Political Culture===

{{PresHead|place=Ashley County, Arkansas|source=<ref name="DL">{{cite web|title=Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections|url=http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/|access-date=November 18, 2016}}</ref>}}
<!-- PresRow should be {{PresRow|Year|Winning party|GOP vote #|Dem vote #|3rd party vote #|State}} -->
{{PresRow|2024|Republican|5,145|1,774|111|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2020|Republican|5,548|2,125|253|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2016|Republican|5,338|2,408|337|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2012|Republican|4,867|2,859|195|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2008|Republican|5,406|2,976|260|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2004|Republican|4,567|3,881|64|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|2000|Democratic|3,876|4,253|142|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1996|Democratic|2,428|5,011|842|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1992|Democratic|2,686|5,876|1,005|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1988|Democratic|4,111|4,466|82|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1984|Republican|5,675|3,373|41|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1980|Democratic|3,960|4,552|236|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1976|Democratic|3,092|5,253|9|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1972|Republican|5,506|1,680|17|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1968|American Independent|1,470|2,035|4,401|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1964|Republican|3,742|2,901|67|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1960|Democratic|1,288|3,118|620|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1956|Democratic|1,183|2,820|267|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1952|Democratic|1,249|3,471|9|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1948|Democratic|197|1,844|367|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1944|Democratic|285|2,169|6|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1940|Democratic|184|1,835|4|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1936|Democratic|95|1,382|0|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1932|Democratic|188|2,537|8|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1928|Democratic|786|1,393|3|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1924|Democratic|506|1,048|95|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1920|Democratic|725|1,312|32|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1916|Democratic|463|1,519|0|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1912|Democratic|439|1,029|428|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1908|Democratic|821|1,100|70|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1904|Democratic|347|804|12|Arkansas}}
{{PresRow|1900|Democratic|524|1,381|23|Arkansas}}
{{PresFoot|1896|Democratic|405|1,760|90|Arkansas}}

In [[United States Congress|Congress]], Arkansas has been represented by two Republican senators, [[John Boozman]] and [[Tom Cotton]], since January 3, 2015, ending a long history of Democratic hegemony. In the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]], Ashley County is the easternmost county within the [[Arkansas's 4th congressional district|4th congressional district]], which contains [[Southwest Arkansas]], the [[Arkansas River Valley]], and a few [[Ozark]] counties. The 4th has been represented by [[Bruce Westerman]] since [[United States House of Representatives elections in Arkansas, 2014#District 4|2014]].

In the [[Arkansas Senate]], Ashley County is within the 1st District. The district contains much of [[Southeast Arkansas]] and has been represented by [[Ben Gilmore]] (R) since 2021. In the [[Arkansas House of Representatives]], Ashley and Chicot counties make up the 95th district, which has been represented by [[Howard M. Beaty Jr.]] (R) since 2021.<ref>{{ cite map |author= [[Arkansas Economic Development Institute]] |title= Arkansas District Finder |publisher= [[University of Arkansas at Little Rock]] |location= Little Rock |scale= Various |url=https://districtfinder.youraedi.com/ |access-date= August 20, 2022 }}</ref>

===Taxation===
{{See also|Taxation in the United States}}
[[Property tax]] is assessed by the Ashley County Assessor annually based upon the fair market value of the property and determining which tax rate, commonly called a ''millage'' in Arkansas, will apply. The rate depends upon the property's location with respect to city limits, school district, and special [[tax increment financing]] (TIF) districts. This tax is collected by the Ashley County Collector between the first business day of March of each year through October 15 without penalty. The Ashley County Treasurer disburses tax revenues to various government agencies, such as cities, county road departments, fire departments, libraries, and police departments in accordance with the budget set by the quorum court.

Sales and use taxes in Arkansas are voter approved and collected by the [[Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration]].
Arkansas's statewide [[sales tax|sales]] and [[use tax]] has been 6.5% since July 1, 2013.<ref>{{cite web |title= State Tax Rates |url= http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/exciseTax/salesanduse/Pages/StateTaxRates.aspx |publisher= Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration |access-date= December 19, 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161223132933/http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/exciseTax/salesanduse/Pages/StateTaxRates.aspx |archive-date= December 23, 2016 |url-status= dead }}</ref> Ashley County has an additional sales and use tax of 1.50% since July 1, 2010. Within Ashley County, the City of Crossett has an additional 2.25% sales and use tax since January 1, 2014, and Fountain Hill, Hamburg, Portland, and Wilmot have a 1.00% sales and use tax rate.<ref>{{cite web |title= List of Cities and Counties with Local Sales and Use Tax |date= October–December 2016 |url= http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/exciseTax/salesanduse/Documents/cityCountyTaxTable.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219070244/http://www.dfa.arkansas.gov/offices/exciseTax/salesanduse/Documents/cityCountyTaxTable.pdf |archive-date=December 19, 2009 |url-status=live |publisher= Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration |access-date= April 30, 2017 }}</ref> The [[Arkansas State Treasurer]] disburses tax revenue to counties/cities in accordance with tax rules.