Southland leans Democratic by roughly 24 points: about 62% of voters vote Democratic and 38% Republican.
About 50% of adults in Southland typically vote, below the U.S. average of about 62%. Among adults in Southland, ~31% vote Democratic, ~19% Republican, and ~50% don't vote. The map below shows estimated turnout by block group.
How Southland compares
Among cities within 25 miles, Southland leans more Democratic than 35 of 49 neighbors.
Southland runs about 54 points more Democratic than Arkansas as a whole. Arkansas leans Republican overall, while Southland is one of the few Democratic-leaning pockets.
Politics vary noticeably by neighborhood within Southland. The southwest side runs the most Democratic (D+28) and the west side runs the most Republican (R+22), a spread of about 50 points.
Why Southland leans the way it does
This analysis examined 14,881 data points per city to find what predicts political lean and turnout. The items below are a few correlations that stood out for Southland, not a ranked or complete list of what matters most.
Density combined with diversity predicts Democratic voting. Non-Hispanic white share in Southland is about 35%, about 37 points below the U.S. average of 72%. A high never-married share predicts Democratic voting, and about 31% of adults in Southland have never been married, above 76% of cities. Southland runs against the grain of Arkansas, a Democratic-leaning pocket in a Republican-leaning state.
Preventive-care access and voter turnout
Places with limited routine preventive-care access tend to turn out at a lower rate; Southland, AR sits in the bottom tenth nationally on this measure. Dental visits do not drive turnout; the rate reflects income, insurance, and healthcare access, which line up with who votes.
Why turnout in Southland looks the way it does
Areas with limited routine healthcare access turn out at lower rates. Southland is in the bottom quarter nationally for routine-care measures such as insurance coverage, preventive screenings, and dental visits. The dental-visit rate here is about 40%, about 12 points below the Arkansas average of 51%. Renters vote less often than owners, and about 50% of households in Southland rent, about 25 points above the U.S. average of 25%. High food insecurity lines up with lower turnout, and about 36% of adults in Southland report food insecurity, above 98% of cities. Learn more about the findings and methodology on the political spectrum map.
Nearby Cities
- West Helena, AR R+6
- Helena-West Helena, AR D+44
- Lexa, AR R+45
- Helena Crossing, AR D+16
- Helena, AR D+18
- Barton, AR R+37
- Poplar Grove, AR R+20
- Lagrange, AR R+57
- Rondo, AR R+12
- Oneida, AR Even
Cities with Similar Populations
- Two Grey Hills, NM D+32
- Fifth Ward, LA R+86
- Lawler, IA R+44
- Jennerstown, PA R+54
- Cameron, OK R+76
- Altenburg, MO R+74
- Glenburn, ND R+62
- Perrin, TX R+82
- Eifort, OH R+65
- Strout, MN R+47
Sources and methodology
Precinct-level voting records used to fit the model come from Arkansas Secretary of State, Elections, distributed by the Voting and Election Science Team. Demographic inputs come from the U.S. Census Bureau (ACS 5-year estimates and the 2020 Decennial Census). Health and environmental inputs come from the CDC (PLACES and the Environmental Justice Index). Land cover comes from the USGS and EPA. Election-day and lead-up weather come from PRISM 4km daily grids and the NOAA Global Historical Climatology Network. Mail-voting and election-administration patterns come from the MIT Election Lab's Survey of the Performance of American Elections. Block-group crime detail comes from CrimeGrade. Internet data and modeling support provided by ISPreports.org.
Modeling and analysis by the BestNeighborhood data science team. Full methodology and findings: political spectrum map.
Methodology reviewed by the BestNeighborhood data team. Last updated May 2026.