In Arkansas, a county delivers services close to home. Miller County is responsible for things residents touch all the time, including:

• Setting and spending the county budget.
• Building and maintaining county roads and bridges.
• Running the sheriff’s office and the county jail.
• The circuit and district courts and criminal prosecution.
• Keeping public records — property deeds, marriage licenses and court files.
• Assessing property and collecting property taxes.
• Running elections and voter registration.

Cities such as Texarkana and Fouke run their own police, water and zoning. The county handles countywide services and the areas outside city limits.

Arkansas county government is split into two elected branches, with checks and balances:

• The County Judge is the county’s chief executive — in effect a mayor or manager for the whole county.
• The Quorum Court is the county’s legislature, made up of 11 elected Justices of the Peace.

The county judge (executive)

The county judge runs the county day to day — overseeing county roads and property, preparing and administering the budget, hiring most county employees, and carrying out the ordinances the Quorum Court passes. The judge presides over the Quorum Court but does not vote on its measures, except to break a tie, and can veto its actions. The current county judge is Cathy Hardin Harrison. Lynn McDowell won the 2026 Republican primary and will face Ulysses Brewer, the lone Democrat, in the November election to succeed Harrison as the county’s top elected official.

Cathy Hardin HarrisonCounty Judge

The Quorum Court is made up of 11 Justices of the Peace, each elected from a single district. It passes county ordinances and resolutions, appropriates money, and adopts the county budget. The County Judge presides but votes only to break a tie.

Your justices of the peace (as of June 2026)

Judy WilsonDistrict 1 Adger SmithDistrict 2 Ethan EppinetteDistrict 3 Carl StandridgeDistrict 4 Ernest KeckDistrict 5 Ernest PenderDistrict 6 Larry EastDistrict 7 Robbie HinesDistrict 8 Howdy SmithDistrict 9 Jimmy CowartDistrict 10 Rodney WatkinsDistrict 11

Justices of the Peace serve two-year terms; the county’s other elected officers serve four-year terms. County offices are partisan and on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot, so officeholders can change.

The courts and law enforcement are separate from the county’s executive and legislative branches.

• Sheriff (Wayne Easley) — the county’s chief law enforcement officer. The Sheriff’s Office patrols the county and runs the county jail.
• Prosecuting Attorney — prosecutes criminal cases for the Eighth Judicial District–South, which covers Miller and Lafayette counties.
• Circuit Courts — the Eighth Judicial District–South Circuit Court hears felonies and major civil, family and probate cases through three divisions: Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3.
• District Court — handles lower-level criminal and civil matters and probation.

These elected offices handle the paperwork of daily life. Here is what each one does for you, and who holds it as of June 2026.

Miller County runs mainly on property taxes. The Assessor values your property, the Collector collects the tax, and the Treasurer distributes it to schools, cities and county services. Each year the Quorum Court adopts the budget and appropriates the money — the clearest place for residents to weigh in on how it is spent.

• Attend the Quorum Court. It meets the second Monday of each month at 6 p.m. and is open to the public.
• Vote. County offices are partisan; most officers serve four-year terms (Justices of the Peace serve two), and many are on the Nov. 3, 2026 ballot. See TXK Today’s Miller County voting guide for how and when to vote.
• Look it up. Find your officials, agendas and county services at millercountyar.gov.