Voting in Arkansas

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Select a state from the menu below to learn more about its voting policies.

The policies governing voter participation are enacted and enforced primarily at the state level. These policies, which include voter identification requirements, early voting provisions, online voter registration systems, and more, dictate the conditions under which people cast their ballots in their respective states.

This article includes the following information about voting policies in Arkansas:

Click here for more information about election administration in the state, including voter list maintenance policies, provisional ballot rules, post-election auditing practices, and additional election policy context.

For information on elections happening this year, click here.

Do you have questions about your elections? Looking for information about your local election official? Click here to use U.S. Vote Foundation’s election official lookup tool.

Voter registration

Eligibility and registration details

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.[1]

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:[1]

  • County clerk's office
  • The Arkansas Secretary of State Elections Division
  • Local revenue or DMV office
  • Public library
  • Disability agency
  • Military recruitment office
  • Online


In-person voting

Poll times

See also: State poll opening and closing 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.[2]

Voter identification

See also: Voter identification laws by state

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."[1]

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.[1]

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."[3]

Early voting

See also: 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/mail-in voting

See also: Absentee/mail-in 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:[4]

  • 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.[4][5][6]


Local election officials

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Do you need information about elections in your area? Are you looking for your local election official? Click here to visit the U.S. Vote Foundation and use their election official lookup tool.

Voting rules for people convicted of a felony

See also: Voting rights for people convicted of a felony

In Arkansas, people convicted of a felony whose sentences have not been discharged or pardoned may not register to vote. Their right to vote is automatically restored upon completion of the entire sentence, including parole or probation.

Voting rights for people convicted of a felony vary from state to state. In the majority of states, people convicted of a felony cannot vote while they are incarcerated but may regain the right to vote upon release from prison or at some point thereafter.[7]


Election administration agencies

Election agencies

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See also: State election agencies

Individuals seeking additional information about voting provisions in Arkansas can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.

Arkansas County Clerks

Click here for a list

Arkansas Secretary of State, Election Division

500 Woodlane Avenue, Suite 256
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Phone: 501-682-1010
Email: electionsemail@sos.arkansas.gov
Website: http://www.sos.arkansas.gov/

Arkansas Ethics Commission

Physical Address: 501 Woodlane St., Suite 301N
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Mailing address: P.O. Box 1917
Little Rock, Arkansas 72203-1917
Phone: 501-324-9600
Toll free: 1-800-422-7773
Fax: 501-324-9606
Email: graham.sloan@arkansas.gov
Website: http://www.arkansasethics.com/

Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners

501 Woodlane Dr., Suite 122 S
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
Phone: 501-682-1834
Toll free: 1-800-411-6996
Fax: 501-682-1782
Email: info.SBEC@sos.arkansas.gov
Website: http://www.arkansas.gov/sbec/

U.S. Election Assistance Commission

633 3rd Street NW, Suite 200
Washington, DC 20001
Phone: 301-563-3919
Toll free: 1-866-747-1471
Email: clearinghouse@eac.gov
Website: https://www.eac.gov


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See also

Elections in Arkansas


External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Arkansas Secretary of State, "Voter Registration Information," accessed July 29, 2024
  2. ↑ Arkansas Code, "Title 7, Chapter 5, Subchapter 304," accessed April 3, 2023
  3. ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Frequently Asked Questions," accessed July 29, 2024
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Arkansas Secretary of State, "Absentee Voting," accessed July 29, 2024
  5. ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Military and Overseas Citizens," accessed April 3, 2023
  6. ↑ Arkansas Secretary of State, "Absentee Voting," accessed April 3, 2023
  7. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Felon Voting Rights," April 6, 2023
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