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Voting & Elections Toolkits

Voting and advocacy resources by librarians for librarians

Voter Registration in Arkansas

Eligibility

  • Be a U.S. citizen.
  • Be an Arkansas resident.
  • Be age 18 or turn 18 on or before the next election.
  • Not be a convicted felon whose sentence has not been discharged or pardoned.
  • Not be presently adjudged as mentally incompetent as to your ability to vote by a court of competent jurisdiction.
  • Check to see if you are already registered

More information on Arkansas voting eligibility

Deadline

  • You must submit your application to an official voter registration agency or mail it no later than 30 days prior to an election in which you wish to vote. The postmark on a mail-in application will be considered the submission date.
  • If you completed your application at a voter registration drive, the organizers must submit it to the county clerk or Secretary of State’s office within 21 days of the date on the application or no later than 30 days prior to the next election.
  • Deadline to register is October 6, 2024. 

More information on registration deadlines

Mail-in or in-person registration

You may obtain a voter registration form from the following sources:

Updating registration      

To update registration after a move, name change, or change of political party affiliation, use the voter registration form (PDF).

In Arkansas, moving across county lines requires transferring the registration to the new county. Be sure to submit your updated registration to the county clerk in your new county no later than four days before a scheduled election so you can vote there. If your application arrives less than four days before an election, you will not be eligible to vote in your new county for that election. (Act 556 of 2007)

Cancelling registration

To cancel your voter registration, you must cancel your voter registration through the county clerk's office (PDF)

ID Requirements for Arkansas Voters

ID Requirements for Registration

Mail-in Registration

You must provide either your driver’s license number or the last four digits of your Social Security number on your Arkansas Voter Registration Application, or check the box in #9 on the application to indicate that you do not possess either a driver’s license or Social Security number.

More information on ID requirements

ID Requirements for Voting

According to Arkansas law, voters are now required to verify his or her voter registration.

If the voter is unable to verify their registration, they have the opportunity to vote a provisional ballot. Under this circumstance, the voter has until 12:00 noon on the first Monday following the election to provide proper identification.

Each voter shall verify his or her registration when voting by presenting a document or identification card that:

(a) Shows the name of the person to whom the document or identification card was issued;

(b) Shows a photograph of the person to whom the document or identification card was issued;

(c) Is issued by the United States, the State of Arkansas, or an accredited postsecondary educational institution in the State of Arkansas; and

(d) If displaying an expiration date, is not expired or expired no more than four (4) years before the date of the election in which the voter seeks to vote.

Documents and identification cards that will be accepted as verification of voter registration include without limitation: A driver’s license; A photo identification card; A concealed handgun carry license; A United States passport; An employee badge or identification document issued by an accredited postsecondary education institution in the State of Arkansas; A United States military identification document; A public assistance identification card if the card shows a photograph of the person to whom the document or identification card was issued; A voter verification card as provided under Ark. Code § 7-5-324.

Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 51, § 13(b)(1)(B)

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.

Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 51, § 13(b)(2)(B)

More information on ID requirements

Casting a Ballot in Arkansas

Important Dates

  • March 5, 2024: Primary
  • October 21, 2024 Early voting begins for the General Election between the hours of 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and 10:00 am – 4:00 pm on Saturday. Early voting ends at 5:00 pm on the Monday prior to the election. 
  • November 5, 2024 General election

Absentee voting

To be qualified to vote an absentee ballot, you must meet one of the following criteria:

  • You will be unavoidably absent from your polling site on election day, OR
  • You will be unable to attend your polling site on election day due to illness or physical disability, OR
  • You are a member of the Uniformed Services, merchant marines or the spouse or a dependant family member and are away from your polling location due to the member’s active duty status, OR
  • A U.S. citizen whose residence is in Arkansas but is temporarily living outside the territorial limits of the United States.

More information on absentee voting

Information for Military & Overseas voting

Vote Early

  • Depending on the type of election being conducted, you may early vote during the 7 or 15 days prior to Election Day.
  • In most counties, early voting is conducted at the county clerk’s office.
  • In counties with off-site early voting (a location other than the county clerk’s office), local newspapers will publish the designated sites.
  • During a preferential primary or a general election, early voting is available between the hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, ending at 5 p.m. on the Monday before the election. Off-site early voting hours may vary by county; watch your local newspaper or contact your county clerk for information.
  • During all other elections, early voting is available during your county clerk’s regular office hours.
  • If your name or address has changed, you may update your information at the early voting site.

Polling places and hours

  • Use the Polling Place Locator or the Arkansas polling place locator to find your polling place
  • For a general election or primary, polls in Arkansas are open from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
  • ​Time off to vote: Employer must schedule employees’ work schedules on election days to enable employees to vote.

Rides to the polls

Many organizations offer free rides to polling places. Some of these include:

  • Lyft provides free or discounted rides in some underserved communities
  • Political parties sometimes arrange rides for voters. Contact the local office of the Republican or Democratic Party.

Help for voters with disabilities

  • The Office of the Secretary of State has addressed the needs of physically challenged voters to ensure that they can fully participate in the process by installing accessible voting machines and providing grants to counties to make polls accessible.

More info on the Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

Ballots

Where to get more info on candidates

Initiatives and Referenda

Sample ballots

Elections

Primaries vs. general elections

  • Open primary elections, meaning that a voter does not have to be registered in advance with a political party in order to participate in its primary.
  • A primary candidate must win a majority of the votes cast in order to win the election; if no candidate meets that threshold, a runoff primary is held between the top two vote-getters.

Jurisdiction

Offices/Measures That May Appear on the Ballot

Federal (even years)

President/Vice-President (elected every four years; next election in 2024)

Senator (elected every six years for staggered terms; next election in 2022)

Representative (elected every two years)

State (even years)

Governor/Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Auditor, Attorney General, Public Lands Commissioner (elected every four years; next election in 2022).

State Supreme Court Justices (elected every eight years for staggered terms; next election in 2022)

Appellate Court Justices (elected to eight-year terms)

State Senator (all senators are on the ballot in 2022)

State Representative (elected for two years; all representatives are on the ballot in 2022)

Statewide ballot measures

Municipal and County

Offices (even years)

School Boards 

Mayor

Local ballot measures

Who are the candidates, and what else is on the ballot?

  • Arkansas has a table of candidates for the 2024 General Election and Nonpartisan Judicial General Election. 

Important Dates

  • March 5, 2024: Primary
  • October 21, 2024 Early voting begins for the General Election between the hours of 8:00 am and 6:00 pm, Monday through Friday, and 10:00 am – 4:00 pm on Saturday. Early voting ends at 5:00 pm on the Monday prior to the election. 
  • November 5, 2024 General election

Who conducts elections?

The Elections Division within the Arkansas Secretary of State's office is responsible for maintaining the state’s election records, assisting county officials with conducting federal, state and district elections, ensuring compliance with federal election laws such as the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act, and overseeing training on the state’s electronic voting systems.

Voter Bill of Rights

None noted on website of Secretary of State for Arkansas.

Where to go with complaints about candidates or how elections are conducted

The Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners investigates complaints of alleged election misconduct and election law violations. You can file an official complaint at their website. 

Campaign finance

Financial Disclosure Archive Search allows you to access archived Financial Disclosure reports filed both on paper and online with the Secretary of State's office, including Statement of Financial Interest Reports, Extra Income Disclosures, Disclosure by the Members of the General Assembly, Contribution and Expenditure Reports, Political Action Committee Reports and Lobbyist Reports.

How to contact your elected officials:

State elected officials

Members of Congress from Arkansas -- Representatives and Senators (Congress.gov)

General Resources on Voting and Elections

General Resources on Voting and Elections


Election Protection Hotlines


1-866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683)

1-888-VE-Y-VOTA (888-839-8682) (en Español)

1-888-API-VOTE (888-274-8683) (Asian multilingual assistance)

1-844-YALLA-US (844-925-5287) (Arabic)


Voter Registration & Election Day Resources

Find useful voter information including:

  • Local Election Office and Contact Information
  • Address, Telephone and Email for Local Election Offices
  • Upcoming Federal Election Dates and Deadlines
  • Upcoming State Election Dates and Deadlines
  • Eligibility Requirements
  • Identification Requirements
  • Voter Materials Transmission Options
  • State Lookup Tools – Am I Registered? Where’s my Ballot?

Population-Specific information and Resources

Voting Rights: Laws, Cases, Policy

Voter Engagement

Voter Education

Campaign Finance/Funding Information

Primary Sources, Lesson Plans & Exhibits

Disclaimer

Librarians from the Government Documents Round Table (GODORT), a Round Table of the American Library Association (ALA), created these reference guides. These guides are intended for informational purposes only and are not in any way intended to be legal advice.

If you have questions or feedback to share about these guides, we encourage you to CONTACT US.

These guides are designated with a Creative Commons license and re-use and modification for educational purposes is encouraged.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.