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Campaign finance requirements in Arkansas
 in Arkansas |
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Federal campaign finance laws and regulations |
|---|
| Campaign finance reform |
| History of campaign finance reform |
| State by state comparison of campaign finance reporting requirements |
| Election policy |
| State information |
Campaign finance requirements govern how much money candidates and campaigns may receive from individuals and organizations, how they must report those contributions, and how much individuals, organizations, and political parties may contribute to campaigns. In addition to direct campaign contributions, campaign finance laws also apply to third-party organizations and nonprofit organizations that seek to influence elections through independent expenditures or issue advocacy.
This page provides background on campaign finance regulation, lists contribution limits to state candidates and ballot measures in Arkansas, compares contribution limits to gubernatorial and state legislative candidates in Arkansas with those from other states, and details the candidate reporting requirements in Arkansas.
The information on this page pertains to candidates for state office and state ballot measures. Candidates for federal office are subject to federal campaign finance law. Candidates for local office are subject to all applicable state laws as well as any separate local campaign finance regulations.[1]
Background
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is the independent regulatory agency that administers and enforces federal campaign election laws. The FEC is responsible for disclosing campaign finance information, enforcing limits and prohibitions on contributions, and overseeing public funding of presidential elections.[2] According to the FEC, an individual becomes a federal candidate and must begin reporting campaign finances once he or she has either raised or spent $5,000 in his or her campaign. Within 15 days of this benchmark, the candidate must register with the FEC and designate an official campaign committee, which is responsible for the funds and expenditures of the campaign. This committee must have an official treasurer and cannot support any candidate but the one who registered it. Detailed financial reports are then made to the FEC every financial quarter after the individual is registered. Reports are also made before primaries and before the general election.[3]
The Supreme Court of the United States has issued a number of rulings pertaining to federal election campaign finance regulations. In the 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court held that corporate funding of independent political broadcasts in candidate elections cannot be limited. The court's decision also overturned the ban on for-profit and not-for-profit corporations and unions broadcasting electioneering communications in the 30 days before a presidential primary and in the 60 days before a general election.[4] In the SpeechNOW.org v. Federal Election Commission decision, the first application of the Citizens United decision, the court held that contribution limits on what individuals could give to independent expenditure-only groups, and the amount these organizations could receive, were unconstitutional. Contribution limits on donations directly to candidates, however, remained unchanged.[5][6] In 2014's McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission decision, the court overturned biennial aggregate campaign contribution limits, and held that individuals may contribute to as many federal candidates as they want, but may only contribute up to the federal limit in each case.[7]
While the FEC governs federal election campaigns and contribution limits, individual states enforce their own regulation and reporting requirements. Regulations vary by state, as do limits on campaign contributions and third-party activities to influence elections.
Contribution limits
The table below details contribution limits as they applied to various types of individuals and groups in Arkansas as of July 2025. The uppermost row of the table indicates the contributor, while the leftmost column indicates the recipient.[8]
| Individuals | Political committee (PAC) | Political party | Super PACs | Corporations | Unions | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Statewide Candidate (incl. Governor) | $3,500 | $3,500 | $3,500 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Senate | $3,500 | $3,500 | $3,500 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| House | $3,500 | $3,500 | $3,500 | $0 | $0 | $0 | ||
| Political committee | $10,000 | $10,000 | $10,000 | $0 | $10,000 | $10,000 | ||
| Ballot measures | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | $0 | Unlimited | Unlimited | ||
| Limits apply per election. | ||||||||
| Sources: Arkansas Ethics Commission, "Campaign Contribution Limits 2025-2026 Election Cycle," accessed July 3, 2025, Arkansas Ethics Commission, "Rules on Campaign Contribution Limits," accessed July 3, 2025 | ||||||||
State comparisons in the 2024 elections
Candidate reporting requirements
See statutes: Title 7, Chapter 6 of the Arkansas Code
Candidates seeking a federal office must file with the Federal Election Commission. Reporting details for federal candidates are not included in this section. Candidates seeking state office file with the Arkansas Secretary of State.
Reporting requirements
A candidate is not required to file any financial reports or documents, with the exception of the final report, until his or her contributions or expenditures exceed $500. After contributions or expenditures exceed $500, the candidate must file the following reports with the Arkansas Secretary of State:[10]
- Quarterly Reports are filed for each quarter during a calendar year in which a candidate is not listed on any ballot for election. They contain all contributions received, with loans stated separately, and expenditures made during that quarter. Quarterly Reports are due no later than 15 days after the end of the quarter that they cover.[10]
- Monthly Reports are first filed in January of the year in which a candidate will be listed on a ballot for election and are filed each month of the election year, except when they coincide with pre-election reports. They contain a monthly report of all contributions received, with loans stated separately, and expenditures made from the first day through the last day of that month. Monthly Reports are due no later than 20 days after the end of the month that they cover.[10]
- Pre-election Reports must be filed before any primary, runoff, general, or special election in which the candidate’s name appears on the ballot. These reports cover all contributions received, with loans stated separately, and expenditures made between the last report and 10 days before the election. In the case of a runoff election, the report should cover campaign finances between the first election and 10 days before the runoff election. Pre-election Reports are due seven days prior to the applicable election.[10]
- Final Reports cover all contributions, loans, and expenditures not covered by former reports. These reports are due no later than the last day of the month after the end of the month in which the candidate’s name appeared on the ballot in any primary, runoff, or general election. These reports close financial handling for that election year. [10]
Records of all reports must be maintained and made available to the Arkansas Ethics Commission for a period of four years.[11]
Campaign finance legislation
The table below displays bills related to campaign finance introduced during or carried over to Arkansas' current legislative session.[12]
Election and campaign ballot measures
Ballotpedia has tracked 15 statewide ballot measures relating to elections and campaigns.
- Arkansas Campaign Contribution Limits and Disclosure, Proposed Initiated Act 1 (1996)
- Arkansas Establishment of Date for Proposed Constitution Vote, Referred Question Act 3 (1978)
- Arkansas Standards of Conduct for Candidates and Political Campaigns, Proposed Initiated Act 1 (1990)
- Arkansas Poll Tax Repeal, Proposed Amendment 54 (1964)
- Arkansas Legislative Authority to Submit Ballot Measures, Proposed Amendment 54 (1968)
- Arkansas Political Party Registration, Referred Act 457 (1968)
- Arkansas Primary Laws, Act 1 (1916)
- Arkansas Consolidation of Elections, Act 1 (1926)
- Arkansas Poll Tax Elimination, Proposed Amendment 26 (1938)
- Arkansas Repeal of Double Primary, Proposed Amendment 30 (1940)
- Arkansas Direct Political Party Response, Initiated Act No. 3 (1948)
- Arkansas Poll Tax Exemption, Proposed Amendment 37 (1944)
- Arkansas Election of County Clerks, Amendment 41 (1952)
- Arkansas Authorization of Non-Elected Revenue Bonds, Proposed Amendment 67 (1986)
- Arkansas Voting and Elections, Proposed Amendment 1 (2008)
Election administration agencies
Election agencies
- See also: State election agencies
Individuals seeking additional information about election administration in Arkansas can contact the following local, state, and federal agencies.
Arkansas County Clerks
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
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
- 1050 First Street, NE
- Washington, DC 20463
- Telephone: (202)-694-1100
- Toll-free: 1-800-424-9530
- Email: info@fec.gov
- Website: http://www.fec.gov/
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Arkansas campaign finance. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Campaign finance regulation
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Arkansas
- Arkansas
Footnotes
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Campaign Finance Enforcement," accessed May 28, 2025
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "About the FEC," accessed June 27, 2012
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Candidate Registration Brochure," accessed December 7, 2012
- ↑ New York Times, "Justices, 5-4, Reject Corporate Spending Limit," January 21, 2010
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Speechnow.org v. FEC," April 7, 2014
- ↑ OpenSecrets, "Two Federal Court Rulings Could Change Campaign Finance Landscape," March 26, 2010
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Ongoing Litigation," accessed March 18, 2015
- ↑ vox.com, "Superpacs and dark money," accessed March 17, 2015
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Limits on Contributions to Candidates 2023-2024 Election Cycle," accessed May 8, 2025
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Running for Public Office, "A 'Plain English' Handbook for Candidates," 2024 Edition, accessed July 3, 2025
- ↑ Justia "Arkansas Code Section 7-6-206," accessed July 3, 2025
- ↑ Bills are organized by most recent action. Clicking on a bill will open its page on Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.
