Arkansas officials this week projected that barely more than half of this state's eligible voters will bother to vote in the Nov. 8 general election.
That's not exactly how the secretary of state or his spokesman put it, but it is the hard truth. And it's an awful reflection on all of us.
In a state with more than 1.8 million people actually registered and eligible to vote in this particular election, the secretary of state's office is projecting that just 51 percent of us, or 916,674 voters, will care enough to vote -- despite the seriousness of the ballot.
No, it is not a presidential election year. But it is when Arkansas will select the seven officials who will guide and manage the state government through the next four years.
We've got plenty of other issues and candidates for state, local and federal office to decide, too; but focus for now on the top offices in state government, all of which are up for election this year.
Currently, all seven of Arkansas' constitutional officers are Republicans and have been for years.
Both the Republican and Democratic parties have nominated candidates for all seven offices and there are Libertarian Party challengers for a couple of the offices.
Voters will definitely be putting different people in five of the offices and choosing between an incumbent and a challenger in the remaining two.
Why are so many state offices turning over?
Term limits will take out Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who is finishing up his eighth year as the state's chief executive. But he isn't the only one who must leave his or her current office because of the state's two-term limit.
Also ineligible to continue in offices they currently hold are the lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer and auditor.
There are actually only two state officials, the secretary of state and the commissioner of state lands, who are eligible for second terms. Both are standing for re-election against challengers for those offices.
Only the auditor is planning to retire. The rest are trying to win another office in the Capitol.
Ever since Arkansas gave the governor and other statehouse officials four-year terms -- and limited each to two terms, state voters have routinely watched elected officials exhaust their time in one office only to run for another one, often successfully.
This year's introduction of Sarah Huckabee Sanders, daughter of former Gov. Mike Huckabee and a former White House press secretary, to the field for governor upset plans for a couple of other Republican governor wannabes.
Both the current lieutenant governor and the current attorney general had been waiting in the wings for Gov. Hutchinson to complete his time in the office.
Both had actually announced their intention to run for governor when Sanders, encouraged by former President Donald Trump, came home to put together what has proved to be a formidable campaign organization.
The lieutenant governor quickly changed his bid to the attorney general's office, while the attorney general eventually switched to the lieutenant governor's race.
By now, you're probably confused about who's in what race. The ballot will likely confuse you a bit more, because all these officials will be listed by their current title.
The titles are not in the list below, however, just the candidates' names in alphabetical order and their party affiliations.
You'll have to search for their respective biographies, for debate transcripts and other specifics on the different races. Review your newspaper's election coverage as well as whatever the candidates themselves may have posted online.
Arkansas' leadership will change in January with different people in at least five of these seven constitutional offices.
Governor: Ricky Dale Harrington, Jr., Libertarian Party; Chris Jones, Democratic Party; Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Republican Party.
Lt. governor: Frank Gilbert, Libertarian Party; Kelly Ross Krout, Democratic Party; Leslie Rutledge, Republican Party.
Attorney general: Jesse Gibson, Democratic Party; Tim Griffin, Republican Party.
Secretary of state: Anna Beth Gorman, Democratic Party; John Thurston, Republican Party.
State treasurer: Mark Lowery, Republican Party; Pam Whitaker, Democratic Party.
State auditor: Diamond Arnold-Johnson, Democratic Party; Dennis Milligan, Republican Party; Simeon Snow, Libertarian Party.
Commissioner of state lands: Darlene Goldi Gaines, Democratic Party; Tommy Land, Republican Party.
Those are the choices. The less you know about these people or the jobs they want to do, the more you need to prepare to cast a vote.
Will you help make reasoned choices or leave the job to the 51 percent expected to vote, ready or not?