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Arkansas state legislative Republican primaries, 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.
| 2018 Arkansas State Legislature elections | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General | November 6, 2018 |
| Primary | May 22, 2018 |
| Primary Runoff | June 19, 2018 |
| 2018 elections | |
|---|---|
| Choose a chamber below: | |
The Republican primary elections for the seats in the Arkansas State Senate and Arkansas House of Representatives were on May 22, 2018, and the Republican primary runoff elections were on June 19, 2018. For information about the Democratic primary elections in Arkansas, click here.
The general election was on November 6, 2018. The candidate filing deadline was March 1, 2018. In the state Senate, 18 of 35 seats were up for election. In the state House, all 100 seats were up for election.
Incumbents who did not advance to the general election
Retiring incumbents
Three state Senate incumbents did not seek re-election in 2018.
- Jake Files (District 8)[1]
- David J. Sanders (District 15)
- Jeremy Hutchinson (District 33)
Thirteen state House incumbents were defeated in their primaries.
- Andy Mayberry (District 27)
- Kim Hammer (District 28)
- Tim Lemons (District 43)
- Joe Farrer (District 44)
- Jeremy Gillam (District 45)[2]
- James Sturch (District 63)
- Trevor Drown (District 68)
- David Meeks (District 70)
- Kenneth Henderson (District 71)
- Charlotte Vining Douglas (District 75)
- Mathew Pitsch (District 76)
- Kim Hendren (District 92)
- Bob Ballinger (District 97)
Incumbents defeated
Two state Senate incumbents were defeated in their primaries.
- Bryan King (District 5)
- Linda Collins-Smith (District 19)
One state House incumbent was defeated in his primary.
- Donald Ragland (District 83)
Competitiveness
In 2018, Arkansas had twice as many contested Democratic primaries compared to 2016 and 2014. There were slightly more candidates running than in 2016 and 2014 and three more incumbents drew challenges compared to 2016.
| Year | Total seats | Open seats | Total candidates | Democratic primaries contested | Republican primaries contested | Total contested | Incumbents contested in primaries | Total incumbents contested in primaries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 118 | 24 | 194 | 9 | 18 | 11.4% | 13 | 13.8% |
| 2016 | 117 | 15 | 177 | 4 | 17 | 9.0% | 10 | 9.8% |
| 2014 | 118 | 31 | 186 | 4 | 22 | 11.0% | 8 | 9.2% |
Partisan control
The tables below show the partisan breakdowns of the Arkansas House of Representatives and the Arkansas State Senate as of June 2018:
Arkansas House of Representatives
| Party | As of June 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 24 | |
| Republican Party | 75 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 100 | |
Arkansas State Senate
| Party | As of June 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 9 | |
| Republican Party | 25 | |
| Vacancies | 1 | |
| Total | 35 | |
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.[3][4]
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.[5]
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.[6]
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:[6]
- 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."[7]
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.[8] Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. 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."[6]
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.[6]
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."[9]
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.
Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia permit 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:[10]
- 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.[10][11][12]
See also
- Arkansas state legislative Democratic primaries, 2018
- Arkansas House of Representatives elections, 2018
- Arkansas State Senate elections, 2018
- Arkansas State Legislature
- Arkansas elections, 2018
Footnotes
- ↑ Files left office in February 2018 after pleading guilty to federal charges of wire fraud, bank fraud, and money laundering.
- ↑ Gillam left office in June 2018 to take a job with the University of Central Arkansas.
- ↑ 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
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 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
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 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
