LITTLE ROCK—Without a statewide race on the ballot, voting was light Tuesday as Arkansans selected three Appeals Court judges and party nominees in a handful of legislative races.

Under a 2005 state law, Arkansas held its presidential primary in February and left the balance of its political primary contests on the third Tuesday of May. No member of Congress drew opposition from within any major party—including his own—leaving regional judgeships and state House and Senate seats atop the ballots.

Secretary of State Charlie Daniels predicted that fewer than 260,000 Arkansans would cast ballots. For the Feb. 5 presidential primary, 535,572 voters went to the polls. General elections typically draw 1 million voters or more.

Craighead County Deputy Clerk Angie Nelms said turnout Tuesday was “slow” and clerks statewide reported few problems. The state Board of Election Commissioners monitored balloting and vote collection in St. Francis County after criticism about its handling of a 2006 Democratic Senate primary runoff.

Court of Appeals posts in western, central and southeastern Arkansas highlighted the card.

Judge Wendell Griffen sought his first ballot victory since his successful public fight with a state ethics panel over whether he had a right to speak publicly on non-judicial issues. He faced Rita Gruber, a circuit judge for Perry and Pulaski counties, after losing statewide Supreme Court bids in 2004 and 2006.

Griffen joined the court in 1996, by appointment, and won re-election without opposition in 2000. In his statewide races, he failed to carry any of the counties that make up his district: Perry, Pulaski and Saline. Those contests came while he was actively fighting the Arkansas Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission over various criticism.

Through his time on the bench, Griffen has criticized the University of Arkansas, the Bush administration and the war in Iraq, among other things. Gruber declined to discuss Griffen’s remarks.

The state discipline panel dropped its accusations against Griffen last year.

In northwestern Arkansas, politically connected lawyers Courtney Henry of Fayetteville and Ron Williams of Springdale sought a spot being vacated by Judge Sarah Hefley, who had been appointed to the court following the death of Judge Terry Crabtree. The district consists of Benton, Carroll, Crawford, Franklin, Johnson, Madison and Washington counties.

Hefley, under the state constitution, was ineligible to seek the post.

Henry has touted the endorsements she’s received from former Democratic Sen. David Pryor and former Republican congressman John Paul Hammerschmidt as an indication of the bipartisan support she’s received for the Appeals Court post.

Williams, the father-in-law of former Republican state Rep. Timothy Hutchinson, has also touted the support of former Republican congressman Asa Hutchinson, Timothy’s uncle. Williams’ campaign consultants include Jim Holt, a former Republican state senator who has campaigned against gay marriage and for greater state restrictions on illegal immigrants.

Jefferson County District Judge Waymond Brown ran against Pine Bluff attorney Eugene Hunt for an Appeals Court post representing Arkansas, Chicot, Desha, Jefferson, Lee, Phillips and St. Francis counties.

Of the 118 legislative seats up this year, 78 are uncontested, which helped dampen enthusiasm for Tuesday’s election. Sen. Mark Pryor, D-Ark., and Arkansas’ four sitting congressmen also did not draw a major party opponent when the filing period closed in March.

Tuesday afternoon, Daniels said 4 percent of the state’s 1.6 million registered voters either cast early voting ballots or requested absentee ballots. He said about 58,000 residents voted early and about 11,000 requested absentee ballots.