Democratic Party primaries in Arkansas, 2018
- General election: Nov. 6
- Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
- Early voting: Oct. 22 - Nov. 5
- Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 5
- Online registration: No
- Same-day registration: No
- Voter ID: Photo ID required (preliminary injunction issued on April 26, 2018)
- Poll times: 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
- See also: Democratic Party primaries, 2018
Primary elections—in which registered voters select a candidate whom they believe should run on their party's ticket in the general election—can reflect internal conflict over the direction of a party.
Heading into the 2018 election, the Democratic Party sought to increase its power at the state and federal levels under the Trump administration. Its membership, however, disagreed on several major policy areas, including healthcare, free trade, education funding, a federal job guarantee, and a proposal to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).[1][2]
Candidates endorsed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee won 31 of 33 primaries in 2018.[3] Democratic Socialists of America member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's (D) primary victory over incumbent Joseph Crowley (D) in New York's 14th Congressional District was a notable victory for progressive activists.[4][5][6]
Democrats also won a U.S. Senate seat in Alabama for the first time in 30 years and flipped longtime Republican seats in the Wisconsin state Senate and Pennsylvania's 18th Congressional District. A record number of Republican congressional retirements also led to large Democratic fields for typically non-competitive seats.[7]
This page focuses on the Democratic primaries that took place in Arkansas on May 22, 2018. In addition, the page provides context for understanding the state party apparatus.
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State elections
Arkansas Party Control: 1992-2025
Eleven years of Democratic trifectas • Eleven years of Republican trifectas
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| Governor | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
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State party overview
- See also: Democratic Party of Arkansas
State political party revenue
State political parties typically deposit revenue in separate state and federal accounts in order to comply with state and federal campaign finance laws. The following table displays the Democratic Party of Arkansas' revenue over a six-year period from 2011 to 2016. Revenue totals are broken down by account type and year. The data was compiled through publicly available state and federal campaign finance reports.
| Democratic Party of Arkansas revenue, 2011 to 2016[8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Federal account | State account(s) | Total |
| 2011 | $496,335.19 | $1,208,107.00 | $1,704,442.19 |
| 2012 | $828,432.77 | $1,279,633.08 | $2,108,065.85 |
| 2013 | $603,011.27 | --[10] | $603,011.27 |
| 2014 | $7,269,387.43 | $2,269,942.96 | $9,539,330.39 |
| 2015 | $602,459.26 | $562,910.16 | $1,165,369.42 |
| 2016 | $2,473,189.05 | $558,883.73 | $3,032,072.78 |
Arkansas compared to other states
The Democratic Party and the Republican Party maintain state affiliates in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and select U.S. territories. The following maps display total state political party revenue per capita for the Democratic and Republican state party affiliates from 2011 to 2016. The blue map displays Democratic state parties and the red map displays Republican state parties. Click on a state below to view the state party's revenue per capita totals:
Total Democratic and Republican state political party revenue per capita in the United States, 2011-2016
Primary election scheduling
Arkansas was one of three states to hold a primary election on May 22, 2018.
Voter information
How the primary works
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Arkansas utilizes an open primary system. Registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[11][12]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Poll times
In Arkansas, all polls are open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Election Day. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote.[13]
Registration requirements
- Check your voter registration status here.
To vote in Arkansas, one must be a citizen of the United States and a resident of Arkansas. A voter must be 18 years of age or older on or before Election Day, not be a convicted felon whose sentence has not been discharged or pardoned, and not be adjudged as mentally incompetent.[14]
Registration must be completed no later than 30 days before the election in which a voter wishes to participate. Citizens must complete and submit a voter registration application to their county clerk or other authorized voter registration agency. For voters that submit applications by mail, the date of postmark will be considered the submission date. Applications may be obtained at the following locations:[14]
- County clerk's office
- The Arkansas Secretary of State Elections Division
- Local revenue or DMV office
- Public library
- Disability agency
- Military recruitment office
- Online
Automatic registration
Arkansas does not practice automatic voter registration.
Online registration
- See also: Online voter registration
Arkansas does not permit online voter registration.
Same-day registration
Arkansas does not allow same-day voter registration.
Residency requirements
Arkansas law requires 30 days of residency in the state before a person may vote.
Verification of citizenship
Arkansas does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. An individual must attest that they are a U.S. citizen when registering to vote. According to the state's voter registration application, a voter who provides false information "may be subject to a fine of up to $10,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 10 years under state and federal laws."[15]
All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment.[16] As of January 2025, six states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, and New Hampshire — had passed laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration. However, only two of those states' laws were in effect, in Arizona and New Hampshire. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allowed noncitizens to vote in some local elections as of November 2024. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.
Verifying your registration
The site Voter View, run by the Arkansas Secretary of State's office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.
Voter ID requirements
Arkansas requires voters to present photo identification while voting. The identification must include the voter’s name and photograph. It must be issued by "the United States, the State of Arkansas, or an accredited postsecondary educational institution in the State of Arkansas." If the identification has an expiration date on it, it cannot be expired for "more than four (4) years before the date of the election in which the voter seeks to vote."[14]
The following list of accepted ID was current as of July 2024. Click here for the Arkansas Secretary of State's page on accepted ID to ensure you have the most current information.
- Driver’s license
- Photo identification card
- Concealed handgun carry license
- United States passport
- Employee badge or identification document issued by an accredited postsecondary education institution in the State of Arkansas
- United States military identification document
- Public assistance identification card if it has a photograph
- Voter verification card as provided under Ark. Code § 7-5-324
"A person who is a resident of a long-term care or residential care facility licensed by the state of Arkansas is not required to verify his or her registration by presenting a document or identification card as described above when voting in person, but must provide documentation from the administrator of the facility attesting that the person is a resident of the facility," according to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office.[14]
Voters can obtain a voter verification card at their county clerk's office: "[V]oters will be required to complete an affidavit stating they do not possess such identification, and must provide documentation containing their full legal name and date of birth, as well as documentation containing their name and residential address."[17]
Early voting
Arkansas permits early voting. Learn more by visiting this website.
Early voting permits citizens to cast ballots in person at a polling place prior to an election. In states that permit no-excuse early voting, a voter does not have to provide an excuse for being unable to vote on Election Day. States that allow voters to cast no-excuse absentee/mail-in ballots in person are counted as no-excuse early voting states.
As of February 2024, 47 states and the District of Columbia permitted no-excuse early voting.
Absentee voting
Arkansas voters are eligible to vote absentee/mail-in in an election if they cannot make it to the polls on Election Day for one of the following reasons:[18]
- The voter will be "unavoidably absent" from his or her polling location on Election Day.
- The voter is physically unable to visit his or her polling location on Election Day due to illness or disability.
- The voter is a member of the armed services, merchant marines, or is the spouse or dependent of such an individual and "are away from your polling location due to the member’s active duty status."
- The voter is temporarily living outside the United States.
To vote absentee/mail-in, a request must be received by elections officials either seven days prior to the election (if submitted by mail or fax), by the Friday before the election (if submitted in person), or by 1:30 p.m. on the day of the election if the request is made by an authorized agent for a voter confined in a hospital or nursing home. The deadline to return an absentee/mail-in ballot is by close of business the Friday before the election if returned in person, or received by 7:30 p.m. on Election Day if submitted by mail or by an authorized agent. Military and overseas voters must complete their ballot by Election Day and they must be received by their county clerk by 5:00 p.m. 10 days after the election.[18][19][20]
See also
| Federal primaries in Arkansas | State primaries in Arkansas | Arkansas state party apparatus | Arkansas voter information |
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Footnotes
- ↑ CNN, "Why a 'federal jobs guarantee' is gaining steam with Democrats," April 26, 2018
- ↑ The Atlantic, "What ‘Abolish ICE’ Actually Means," July 11, 2018
- ↑ CNBC, "Despite Ocasio-Cortez upset, Democratic primaries have not gone as far left as some argue," June 28, 2018
- ↑ New York Times, "There Is a Revolution on the Left. Democrats Are Bracing." July 21, 2018
- ↑ New York Times, "Democrats Are Moving Left. Don’t Panic," July 23, 2018
- ↑ Time, "How Democrats in Congress Responded to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Surprise Win," June 28, 2018
- ↑ CNN, "9 Democratic primaries to watch in 2018," October 26, 2017
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Financial Disclosure Search," accessed May 2016 (Search terms Republican Party of Arkansas and Democratic Party of Arkansas)
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Candidate and Committee Viewer," accessed May 2016 (Search terms Republican Party of Arkansas and Democratic Party of Arkansas)
- ↑ Complete financial report is unavailable for this period.
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed April 3, 2023
- ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
- ↑ Arkansas Code, "Title 7, Chapter 5, Subchapter 304," accessed April 3, 2023
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 Arkansas Secretary of State, "Voter Registration Information," accessed July 29, 2024
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Arkansas Voter Registration Application," accessed November 1, 2024
- ↑ Under federal law, the national mail voter registration application (a version of which is in use in all states with voter registration systems) requires applicants to indicate that they are U.S. citizens in order to complete an application to vote in state or federal elections, but does not require voters to provide documentary proof of citizenship. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the application "may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and permit State officials both to determine the eligibility of the applicant to vote and to administer the voting process."
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed July 29, 2024
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Arkansas Secretary of State, "Absentee Voting," accessed July 29, 2024
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Military and Overseas Citizens," accessed April 3, 2023
- ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Absentee Voting," accessed April 3, 2023
