Title 7, Elections

It shall be the duty of the Secretary of State, on the first day of each regular session of the General Assembly, to lay before each house a list of members elected in accordance with the returns in his or her office.

(a) For all state and federal elections, the county board of election commissioners shall transmit the certified results for each precinct to the Secretary of State through the election night reporting interface provided by the Secretary of State. (b) The county board of election…

(a) A right of action is conferred on any candidate to contest the certification of nomination or the certificate of vote as made by the appropriate officials in any election. (b) The action shall be brought in the circuit court of the county in which the certification of nominat…

(a) If the complaint is sufficiently definite to make a prima facie case, unless the circuit court in which it is filed is in session or is to convene within thirty (30) days, the judge shall call a special term which shall possess the powers of a court convened in a regular term…

(a) In the event that there are more election contests brought under this section than the circuit court judge can dispose of prior to ten (10) days before any election to be held, either of the parties to the contest may so report to the circuit judge in vacation or otherwise, w…

(a) The election contest shall be tried by the circuit judge in open court without a jury. (b) An appeal may be taken from the judgment. However, the appeal shall not operate as a supersedeas by judicial order or otherwise and the judgment of the circuit court shall be obeyed by …

(a) Any contest to the eligibility, qualifications, or election to serve as a member of the Senate shall be in accordance with the rules and procedures for election contests as established by that chamber under its governing rules. (b) (1) (A) Any action to contest eligibility, q…

(a) All contested general elections of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, and Attorney General, except as provided in this section, shall be decided by the joint vote of both houses of the General Assembly, and in that joint m…

(a) If ten (10) reputable citizens of any county shall file a complaint with the circuit judge within twenty (20) days after any election alleging that illegal or fraudulent votes were cast, that fraudulent returns or certifications were made, or that the Political Practices Act …

(a) Should it be proved to the satisfaction of the trial judge, in cases instituted under this subchapter, that a successful candidate has been guilty of violating the Political Practices Act or any of the laws regulating general, primary, or special elections, the circuit court …

(a) Should a proceeding under previous sections of this subchapter or a criminal prosecution under the criminal penalties imposed in this act not be determined finally until after the election, if the defendant in the proceeding is elected to the office or is the nominee of a pol…

An appeal to contest the determination of any election in any court of this state must be filed within seven (7) calendar days of the final certification of the election result as announced by a court as authorized by this subchapter, except in instances in which the Arkansas Con…

This subchapter shall be known and cited as the “Voting and Elections Transparency Act of 2017”.

(a) If for any reason a vote, including an absentee vote and a provisional vote, is not counted under this chapter, the county board of election commissioners shall promptly notify the person who cast the vote. (b) Notification under subsection (a) of this section shall be writte…

(a) Except as otherwise provided under federal law and Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 51, the county clerk shall send written notification to a person when:(1) A person registers to vote for the first time;(2) The voter registration of a person becomes inactive; and(3) A person…

(a) A member of the State Board of Election Commissioners or a county board of election commissioners shall not serve as a poll worker or a poll watcher on behalf of an individual candidate, political party, or ballot initiative. (b) A person shall not simultaneously serve on the…

(a) The documentation required to be submitted by a person who is a resident of a long-term care facility or residential care facility licensed by the state under this chapter shall be standardized. (b) The Secretary of State's office shall develop, adopt, and make available a st…

(a) A county board of election commissioners shall prepare a report of provisional and rejected ballots cast in the county for each election. (b) The report of provisional and rejected ballots cast for each election shall include:(1) The total number of:(A) Provisional ballots;(B…

No action shall be brought to charge any person upon any contract, promise, or agreement for any service rendered to or for him or her as a candidate in any election in this state or in aid of his or her campaign for the nomination to any office in this state unless the agreement…

(a) (1) Candidates for political party nominations for state or district offices shall file with the Secretary of State and candidates for county, municipal, or township offices shall file with the county clerk of the county during the filing period set out in § 7-7-203 for the p…

(a) It shall be unlawful for any judge of the district or circuit courts and any Justice of the Supreme Court or Judge of the Court of Appeals to participate in the campaign of any candidate for office at any election, other than his or her own. (b) The word “participation”, as u…

Neither the owner, licensee, nor operator of a visual or sound radio broadcasting station or network of stations nor his or her agents or employees shall be liable for any damages for any defamatory statement published or uttered in, or as a part of, a visual or sound broadcast b…

(a) When any citizen of Arkansas becomes a candidate in any primary or general election and complies with all the laws pertaining thereto, then the candidate shall be entitled to go into any city, town, municipality, or rural community in Arkansas and operate his or her acoustica…

(1) As used in this subchapter:(1) (A) “Approved political action committee” means any person that:(i) Receives contributions from one (1) or more persons in order to make contributions to candidates, ballot question committees, legislative question committees, political parties,…

A person who knowingly fails to comply with this subchapter shall upon conviction be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor unless a different penalty applies under this subchapter.

(a) (1) (A) It shall be unlawful for any candidate for any public office or for any person acting on the candidate's behalf to accept campaign contributions in excess of the maximum campaign contribution limit established by the Arkansas Ethics Commission under subsection (i) of …

(a) No campaign contribution in excess of one hundred dollars ($100) or expenditure in excess of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be made or received in cash. (b) All contributions or expenditures in behalf of a campaign activity, other than in-kind contributions and expenditures, in…

(a) No campaign contribution shall be made to a candidate, a political action committee, an independent expenditure committee, an exploratory committee, a county political party committee, or a political party unless such contribution is made directly to the intended recipient. P…

(a) A candidate, a person acting in the candidate's behalf, a political party, a county political party committee, a political action committee, an independent expenditure committee, or a person making independent expenditures shall keep records of all contributions and expenditu…

(a) Reports Required. (1) Except as provided in subsections (c) and (e) of this section, each candidate for state or district office, including a district judge, or a person acting in the candidate's behalf, shall file with the Secretary of State:(A) For each quarter during a cal…

(a) Reports required. (1) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, each candidate for school district, township, or municipal office, or a person acting in the candidate's behalf, shall file with the Secretary of State in an election year for the office that the cand…

(a) Reports Required. (1) Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, each candidate for county office or a person acting in the candidate's behalf shall file with the Secretary of State in an election year for the office that the candidate is seeking:(A) (i) A monthly …

(a) (1) The transfer of a candidate's own personal funds to his or her campaign shall be reported as either a loan from the candidate to his or her campaign or a contribution from the candidate to his or her campaign.(2) In the event the transfer of such funds is reported as a lo…

All reports required to be filed by the provisions of this subchapter shall be verified by affidavit by the candidate or a person acting in the candidate's behalf stating that to the best of his or her knowledge and belief the information so disclosed is a complete, true, and acc…

(a) (1) Upon proper filing, the information required in §§ 7-6-203, 7-6-207 — 7-6-210, 7-6-215, 7-6-216, and 7-6-220 shall constitute a public record and shall be available within twenty-four (24) hours of the reporting deadline to all interested persons and the news media.(2) Th…

(a) (1) (A) To qualify as an approved political action committee, the political action committee shall register with the Secretary of State within fifteen (15) days after accepting contributions during a calendar year that exceed five hundred dollars ($500) in the aggregate.(B) R…

(a) (1) An exploratory committee shall register with the appropriate filing office within fifteen (15) days after receiving contributions during a calendar year which, in the aggregate, exceed five hundred dollars ($500).(2) (A) For a state or district office, the place of filing…

(a) (1) The Arkansas Ethics Commission shall be composed of five (5) members, one (1) each appointed by the Governor, Attorney General, Lieutenant Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and President Pro Tempore of the Senate.(2) Members of the commission shall be app…

(a) (1) Any citizen may file a complaint with the Arkansas Ethics Commission against a person covered by this subchapter, by § 6-24-101 et seq.; § 7-1-103(a)(1)-(4), (6), or (7); § 7-1-114 [repealed]; the Disclosure Act for Public Initiatives, Referenda, and Measures Referred to …

(a) (1) Any person who was a candidate and has a campaign debt from an election that has ended may solicit funds and hold fundraisers to retire the campaign debt.(2) The contributions received shall be treated as campaign contributions to the person's previous campaign, and all c…

(a) A person who or an independent expenditure committee which makes independent expenditures in an aggregate amount or value in excess of two hundred dollars ($200) in a calendar year shall file reports with the Secretary of State:(1) (A) No later than fifteen (15) days followin…

(a) Pursuant to rules to be adopted by the Department of Finance and Administration, a credit against individual Arkansas income taxes shall be allowed for money contributions made by the taxpayer in a taxable year to one (1) or more of the following:(1) A candidate seeking nomin…

(a) Within fifteen (15) calendar days after the end of each calendar quarter, each political party that meets the definition of political party stated in § 7-1-101 or that has met the petition requirements of § 7-7-205 shall file a quarterly report with the Secretary of State. (b…

(a) Municipalities, counties, and townships may establish reasonable limitations on:(1) Time periods that candidates for local office shall be allowed to solicit contributions;(2) Limits on contributions to local candidates at amounts lower than those set by state law; and(3) Vol…

Whenever a report becomes due on a day which is a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the report shall be due the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.

(a) (1) (A) To qualify as a county political party committee, the committee shall register with the Secretary of State within fifteen (15) days after accepting contributions during a calendar year that exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000) in the aggregate.(B) The registration sh…