NORTH LITTLE ROCK — The four-candidate race for an open seat on the North Little Rock City Council could be headed to a runoff election next month, as election officials continue processing outstanding ballots, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.
Amanda Dickens, the election coordinator for the Pulaski County Election Commission, indicated that a runoff remains a possibility as workers finalize counts across the county. Dickens stated to the outlet that officials still have outstanding ballots to process and had not yet confirmed how many of those specific ballots contain the Ward 2 council race.
According to data provided by the election commission, the initial vote tallies show candidate Marvin Benton leading the four-person field. Benton holds 1,672 votes, which accounts for 48.86 percent of the total cast so far. Candidate Anna Beth Gorman follows in second place with 935 votes, or 27.32 percent.
Rounding out the candidate field in Ward 2 are John Pflasterer, who received 505 votes for 14.76 percent, and Louis Dillard, who earned 310 votes representing 9.06 percent.
Under Arkansas state law, when an election features more than two candidates, a candidate must secure an absolute majority of the votes to win the seat outright. If no candidate reaches that threshold after all votes are counted, a runoff election is automatically triggered between the top two vote-getters.
If a runoff is necessary to decide the Ward 2 race, official scheduling dictates that the election will take place on Dec. 1.
Final figures depend on several categories of uncounted votes across Pulaski County. Election officials noted that 186 ballots will be added to the absentee vote totals. Additionally, the commission is handling 937 total provisional ballots, which consist of 117 absentee provisional ballots and 820 in-person provisional ballots. There are also 120 outstanding ballots originating from military personnel serving overseas.
The candidate who ultimately wins the Ward 2 seat will succeed longtime council member Linda Robinson. Robinson is retiring from her position on the North Little Rock City Council after serving the city for 24 years.
Benton, 68, resides in Scott. He retired a few years ago following a 40-year career working in Little Rock municipal government. His public service background includes nine years as a firefighter, and he later concluded his career as the head of Little Rock's parking enforcement division.
Gorman, 44, lives at 1434 Rockwater Lane and has resided in North Little Rock for more than ten years. She serves as the chief executive officer of the Women's Foundation of Arkansas, a position she has held since 2016. She is also a former chair of the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce. Gorman previously ran for statewide office as a Democrat in 2022, seeking the position of Arkansas Secretary of State.
Ward 2 is not the only central Arkansas municipal race hanging in the balance while county election workers process final ballots. The Jacksonville mayoral election, which featured three candidates on the ballot, could also be forced into a runoff election depending on the final count.
A Pulaski County Election Commission employee stated that official confirmation on whether the Jacksonville mayoral race will require a runoff will not be known until Nov. 13, which marks the legal deadline for the commission to receive outstanding ballots.
As the Pulaski County Election Commission completes its verification and counting processes for provisional, absentee, and overseas submissions, residents in North Little Rock's Ward 2 will await official word on whether Benton and Gorman will face off again in December.
