All 75 Arkansas counties have two distinct elected components: a legislative "quorum court" of justices of the peace, and a separately elected County Judge who acts as chief executive — implementing quorum court decisions and running county operations — but does not vote in the quorum court. The judge can veto quorum court actions, though a three-fifths vote can override it. For a public meeting, check the quorum court's schedule (state law requires at least monthly meetings); for executive-branch or records matters, the County Judge's office is typically the contact.

Most states fuse legislative and executive power into one small elected commission with no separate strong executive; Arkansas instead separately elects a county executive with independent authority, including a vote-overridable veto, apart from its legislative body.