Ark. Code Ann. § 7-3-101 (2020)
Duties and powers
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Subject to the provisions of this act and other applicable laws of this state, organized political parties shall:
- Prescribe the qualifications of their own membership;
- Prescribe the qualifications for voting in their party primaries; and
- Establish rules and procedures for their own organization.
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- An organized political party shall provide current copies of its adopted rules and procedures to the Secretary of State and the State Board of Election Commissioners.
- The obligation under subdivision (b)(1) of this section is a continuing obligation, and as rules and procedures are amended the political party shall continue to provide updated and current copies of the rules and procedures.
History. Acts 1969, No. 465, Art. 1, § 2; 1971, No. 261, § 2; A.S.A. 1947, § 3-102; Acts 1995, No. 901, § 1; 2019, No. 648, § 1.
Amendments. The 2019 amendment added the (a) designation; substituted “Prescribe” for “Have the right to prescribe” in (a)(1); and added (b).
Meaning of “this act”. Acts 1969, No. 465, codified as §§ 7-1-101, 7-1-103 — 7-1-105, 7-3-101 — 7-3-108, 7-4-101 — 7-4-105, 7-4-107 — 7-4-112, 7-5-101, 7-5-102, 7-5-103 [repealed], 7-5-202 — 7-5-209, 7-5-210 [repealed], 7-5-211, 7-5-301, 7-5-302 [repealed], 7-5-303 [repealed], 7-5-304 — 7-5-306, 7-5-307 [repealed], 7-5-308, 7-5-309, 7-5-312, 7-5-313 [repealed], 7-5-314 — 7-5-319, 7-5-401, 7-5-402, 7-5-405 — 7-5-417, 7-5-501 [repealed], 7-5-502 — 7-5-504, 7-5-505 [repealed], 7-5-506 [repealed], 7-5-507, 7-5-508 [repealed], 7-5-509, 7-5-511 [repealed], 7-5-512, 7-5-513, 7-5-514 [repealed], 7-5-515 — 7-5-518, 7-5-519 [repealed], 7-5-520 — 7-5-522, 7-5-524 — 7-5-531, 7-5-701 — 7-5-706, 7-5-801 — 7-5-809, 7-6-101 — 7-6-105, 7-7-101 — 7-7-105, 7-7-201 — 7-7-203, 7-7-301 — 7-7-307, 7-7-309, 7-7-310 [repealed], 7-7-401, 7-7-402, 7-7-403 [repealed], 7-8-101 — 7-8-104, 7-8-301, 7-8-302, 7-8-304 — 7-8-307, 25-16-801.
Acts 1995, No. 901, codified as §§ 7-3-101, 7-7-201 — 7-7-203, 7-7-301 — 7-7-306, 7-7-308, 7-7-309, 7-7-310 [repealed], 7-7-311 [repealed], 7-7-312 [repealed], 7-7-401.
Case Notes
Constitutionality.
Requiring that political parties both conduct and pay for primary elections as a condition of access to the general election ballot is unconstitutional; the combined effect of § 7-7-102(a) and former § 7-3-101(4) impermissibly burdens the First and Fourteenth Amendment associational rights of voters. Republican Party v. Faulkner County, 49 F.3d 1289 (8th Cir. 1995).
Election Expenses.
Former subdivision (4) of this section is not invalid since primary elections are part of the state's election machinery and may therefore be paid for with public money. Moorman v. Pulaski County Democratic Party, 271 Ark. 908, 611 S.W.2d 519 (1981).
Qualification of Candidates.
Arkansas law is well settled that the party chairman and secretary do not have the judicial authority to determine that a candidate is ineligible to hold public office, nor can they refuse to place the candidate's name upon the ballot. Ivy v. Republican Party, 318 Ark. 50, 883 S.W.2d 805 (1994).