March primaries: Early voting ends Feb. 27; Election Day set March 3

CHEROKEE COUNTY – Local registered voters have through 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, to participate in early voting for the 2026 general primary elections, casting their ballots at any of the three early voting locations in the county: The Cherokee County Election Department (138 W. 5th St., Rusk), Jacksonville Public Library (526 E. Commerce St.) and The River Church (595 Marcus St., Alto). Early voting polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

On Election Day – Tuesday, March 3 – ballots can be cast at any of the 16 polling places in Cherokee County, regardless of a voter’s precinct, according to county election department officials. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday and can be found on the list shared by officials.

Primary races impacting local voters include:

• Cherokee County Judge – Chris Davis, Republican incumbent

• County Court at Law Judge – Janice Crosby Stone, Republican incumbent

• District Clerk – Alison Parrott Dotson, Republican incumbent

• Cherokee County Clerk – Laverne Lusk, Republican incumbent

• Cherokee County Treasurer – Erin Thrash Curtis, Republican incumbent

• Cheroke County Surveyor – Greg Rayburn McCown

• Cherokee County Precinct 2 Commissioner – Republican candidates Steven Norton (incumbent) and Jay Carlton Jones

• Cherokee County Precinct 4 Commissioner – Republican candidate Billy M. McCutcheon (incumbent)

• Cherokee County Precinct 1 Justice of the Peace – Republican candidates Abby Santos, JC Bonet, Gregg Loden and Kim West

• Cherokee County Precinct 2 Justice of the Peace – Republican candidate Amber Lusk Hood (incumbent)

• Cherokee County Precinct 3 Justice of the Peace – Republican candidate Phillip Grimes (incumbent)

• Cherokee County Precinct 4 Justice of the Peace – Republican candidate Rodney Wallace (incumbent)

• Cherokee County Party Chairs – Republican candidates Janet Stanovich (incumbent) and Karen A. Morris; Democratic candidate Janice Thacker

• Precinct 15 Chair – Republican candidates Mike Smith and Sheila Gene Dennis

• Precinct 22 Chair – Republican candidates Alan Higginbotham and Darvin Collins

• Precinct 35 Chair – Republican candidates Donald Reagan and John Earle

• Precinct 36 Chair – Republican candidates Linda Fuglestad, Michele H. Slaton and Leslie Hobgood

This year’s ballot also includes the state-level and district-level races for:

• State Senate (District 3) – Republican candidates Rhonda Ward and Trent Ashby

• State Representative (District 8) – Republican candidates Cody Harris (incumbent) and Daniel Hunt

• District Judge, 369th Judicial District – Republican candidate Jonathan Richey (appointed late 2025)

The primary ballots also include propositions listed by each the Republican and the Democrat parties.