Changes in Arkansas election laws address wide range of issues for 2024 elections

Voters in the March 5 preferential primary and general nonpartisan judicial elections will be subjected to numerous changes in Arkansas election law which came about during the General Assembly’s regular session in 2023. Early voting in the preferential primary begins Tuesday and end March 4. The new laws relate to everything from ballot security measures to the creation of an election integrity unit within Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office.

By: Dale Ellis
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Voters in the March 5 preferential primary and general nonpartisan judicial elections will be subjected to numerous changes in Arkansas election law which came about during the General Assembly’s regular session in 2023.

Early voting in the preferential primary begins Tuesday and end March 4.

The new laws relate to everything from ballot security measures to the creation of an election integrity unit within Attorney General Tim Griffin’s office.

According to Act 544, if the State Board of Election Commissioners investigates a complaint of voting law violations and finds that “there is probable cause to believe there has been a criminal violation of the voter registration laws or election laws, the State Board of Election Commissioners may forward the complaint to the prosecuting attorney for criminal prosecution.”

A major change in the procedure for the filing of ballot initiatives and referendum petitions, outlined in Act 236, the Voter Protection Act of 2023, increases the number of counties from which signatures are required from 15 to 50.

Read more here.