We're about a month away from the Arkansas voter registration deadline. October 7 is the last day to sign up to cast a ballot for this November's election.
I want to know if I'm registered to vote. How would I check?
Arkansas has an online tool where you can check your voter registration status. It's called Voterview.com.
This is the Arkansas Secretary of State's website, where you can type in your name and birthday and it will tell you where to vote, if you are registered. It will also give you a sample ballot that you can print; this way, if you want to research the issues yourself, you can do so beforehand and bring the ballot with you into the voting booth.
If I check online and see something on my registration is incorrect, like my address, or if I'm not registered at all, what do I do?
You still have a few weeks to get registered. Arkansas does not allow same-day voter registration, and there is no automatic voter registration. You have to do it in the month before early voting starts.
You cannot register to vote at a polling station, but there are several places where you can fill out the form to register; this includes the county clerk's office, the Arkansas Secretary of State Elections Division, the DMV, public libraries, and military recruitment offices.
Can I register to vote after October 7?
Yes, but you won't be able to vote in this election cycle.
Can I fill out the registration form online?
Yes you can. You have a few options here. You can request it to be sent to you through the mail at this link. This way you can fill it out and mail it back to the secretary of state's office.
Also, you can print out the form and mail it in yourself. The form is pre-formatted with the Secretary of State's office address. And again, these forms are all on the secretary of state's website. The form will ask you to provide either the last four digits of your social security number, or the number on your ID. You will need a postage stamp. They need to be postmarked by October 7, but they can get to the office later than that.
If you live in a rural area, you get to draw out a map of where you live and attach it to the form.
Here is the application in English.
Here is the application in Spanish.
How do I know if I am registered?
You should get a card in the mail confirming your registration. Also, again, you can check on the Voter View website. The secretary of state recommends that no one assume they are registered to vote and that they check the website.
When I fill out the registration form, can I fill it out online or do I need a pen?
There's been an ongoing conflict about this in recent months. Signing a document by hand is called having a “wet signature” as opposed to a digital signature. The Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners recently made a rule change requiring that people fill out just the signature portion with a pen. The change was stopped in the courts. So, as of this posting, you can use a digital signature. This means for now you can fill the form out electronically.
Can I register to vote if I am under 18?
Only if you turn 18 on or before the next election. You can pre-register if you will be 18 by Election Day. If not, you have to wait.
Can I vote in Arkansas if I have a prior criminal conviction?
It depends. If you have only been convicted of a misdemeanor, then you can vote. If you are a felon, you can vote if you have completed your sentence, paid your fines and completed your probation. And in Arkansas, you actually can vote and register to vote while incarcerated.
Is there anything else we need to know?
You also have to have a residence in Arkansas. And you can't have been judged mentally incompetent by a court.
As we get closer to Election Day, what are some other deadlines we should be looking out for?
Early voting starts on October 21, roughly two weeks before Election Day. You can vote during business hours from October 21 to November 5. You can even vote on Saturday during that time but only from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
You can find a list of early voting locations by visiting the secretary of state's website and the Pulaski County Board of Election Commissioners website at this link.
What if I want to vote by mail?
Anyone can request a mail-in ballot, but you have to request it by October 29. Those ballots are due by November 5. Arkansas does not allow so-called “no-excuse” vote by mail, so you have to give a reason—such as you are in the military, you are temporarily living abroad, or you have an illness or disability that prevents you from voting in-person. You can also check the box that says you will be “unavoidably absent.”
Here is a link to the application.
Arkansas has the highest vote by mail rejection rate. The United States Election Assistance Commission authors a report every election cycle on voting data. It said that in 2022, over 1,000 mail-in ballots were thrown out in Arkansas of the over 15,000 submitted. That's about 6.8%. The state checks to see if the signature on the mail in form matches your voter registration.
How do I get a mail-in ballot application?
The same way you register to vote. You can go to the Secretary of State's website. You can request one be mailed to you or you can fill it out yourself and mail it to the clerk.
The deadline to register to vote is October 7.
