Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-109 (2026)

1. 1. A member of the State Board of Election Commissioners, a county election commissioner, and an election official shall be a qualified elector of this state, able to read and write the English language, and shall not have been found guilty or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to the violation of an election law of this state.
   2. An election official, as defined in § 7-1-101, shall not be a candidate for an office to be filled at an election while serving as an election official.
   3. A member of the county board of election commissioners shall not be disqualified from serving as a member of the county board of election commissioners by the appearance on the ballot as a candidate for a position in his or her political party.
2. 1. A member of a county board of election commissioners shall be a resident of the county in which he or she serves at the time of his or her appointment or election.
   2. 1. An election official shall be a resident of the precinct in which he or she serves at the time of his or her appointment.
      2. However, if at the time of posting election officials the county board of election commissioners votes unanimously and certifies to the county clerk that it is impossible to obtain a qualified election official from any precinct in the county, another qualified citizen of the county may be designated to serve in the precinct.
      3. An election coordinator, deputy clerk, or person assigned by a county clerk to conduct early voting does not have to be a resident of the precinct or county in which he or she serves.
3. 1. A person who is a paid employee of a political party or of a candidate for office on that county's ballot shall not be a member of a county board of election commissioners or an election official.
   2. 1. Except as provided in subdivision (c)(2)(B) of this section, a person serving on the county board of election commissioners shall not participate in the campaign of any candidate listed on a ballot or of a write-in candidate seeking election in that county that falls under the county board of election commissioners’ jurisdiction or authority.
      2. 1. A member of the county board of election commissioners shall not:
            1. Manage a campaign;
            2. Perform labor for a campaign;
            3. Solicit on behalf of a candidate or campaign;
            4. Pass out or place handbills, signs, or other literature concerning a candidate's campaign;
            5. Assist a candidate's campaign at a rally or parade; or
            6. Display candidate placards or signs on an automobile.
         2. A member of the county board of election commissioners may:
            1. Make a financial contribution to a candidate;
            2. Attend a political party's state, district, or county meeting where a candidate or issue advocate speaks as a member of the audience; or
            3. Participate in a political party convention.
   3. A person employed with a company that has a business dealing, contract, or pending contract with a county board of election commissioners to which he or she seeks appointment shall not be a candidate for the county board of election commissioners.
4. A person shall not serve as an election official if:
   1. The person is married to or related within the second degree of consanguinity to a candidate running for office in the election; and
   2. Another person makes an objection to his or her service to the county board of election commissioners within ten (10) calendar days after posting the list of officials.
5. 1. Prior to the regularly scheduled preferential primary election, each of the following shall attend election training coordinated by the State Board of Election Commissioners:
      1. A member of the county board of election commissioners;
      2. A county clerk or his or her designee;
      3. A poll worker; and
      4. A certified election monitor.
   2. The State Board of Election Commissioners shall determine the method and amount of compensation for attending the training.
   3. A deputy county clerk, employee of the county clerk, or other worker who will assist with early voting may be trained by the county clerk or his or her designee.

History. Acts 1969, No. 465, Art. 5, § 4, and Art. 13, § 5; 1971, No. 451, § 2; 1972 (1st Ex. Sess.), No. 41, § 2; A.S.A. 1947, §§ 3-504, 3-1305; Acts 1987, No. 248, § 5; 1993, No. 715, §§ 1, 2; 1997, No. 647, § 7; 2001, No. 796, § 1; 2001, No. 1822, § 1; 2005, No. 894, § 1; 2005, No. 1827, § 3; 2007, No. 489, § 2; 2013, No. 1457, § 2; 2015, No. 1042, § 4; 2015, No. 1253, § 1.

Amendments. The 2013 amendment, in the section heading, deleted “and other” following “commissioners” and added “poll workers, and certified election monitors”; substituted “he or she serves” for “they serve” in (b)(1) and (b)(2)(A); substituted “his or her” for “their” in (b)(2)(A); in (b)(2)(B), substituted “votes unanimously and certifies to the county clerk” for “by unanimous vote shall find”; “in the county, another” for “or precincts and the county board shall make certification of that finding to the county clerk, then other”; in (c)(1), substituted “a candidate” for “any person running” and “not” for “be eligible to”; rewrote (c)(2)(A), (c)(2)(B), (c)(3), and (d); and substituted “poll worker, and certified election monitor” for “for each county and at least two (2) election officials per polling site designated by the county board for each county” in (e)(1); and made stylistic changes.

The 2015 amendment by No. 1042 added (b)(2)(C).

The 2015 amendment by No. 1253 rewrote (c)(2) and (e)(1); and added (e)(3).