Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-211 (2026)
Delivery of election supplies
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At least one (1) day before any election:
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- The county board of election commissioners shall designate a suitable person or persons and deliver to the person or persons the ballots.
- The person shall not be an elected official, an elected official's deputy, or a candidate for office; and
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For each set of poll workers in each polling place, the county board of election commissioners shall deliver to the designated person or persons the following additional election supplies if applicable:
- A good and sufficient ballot box with numbered seals;
- Sufficient list-of-voters forms adequate to record the names of all registered voters who appear to vote in the polling place;
- A precinct voter registration list;
- Sufficient tally sheets;
- Envelopes to seal the ballots and certificates;
- Separate sheets containing blank forms of certificates prepared to enable the poll workers to properly certify the paper ballot count at the polling site, upon which certificates shall be endorsed a blank form of oath to be taken by the poll workers before entering upon the discharge of their duties;
- Voter registration application forms for voters using fail-safe voting and other record-keeping supplies necessary to document fail-safe voting procedures; and
- In those counties in which an optical scanner is used to count paper ballots, the marking instrument recommended by the manufacturer of the optical scanner for proper marking on the ballots shall be provided.
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- The county board of election commissioners shall be responsible for the security of the delivered election materials.
- The county board of election commissioners shall be responsible for providing ballots and election materials for absentee and early voting to the county clerk before the beginning day for absentee and early voting.
History. Acts 1969, No. 465, Art. 6, § 11; 1973, No. 157, § 8; A.S.A. 1947, § 3-611; Acts 1995, No. 601, § 2; 1995, No. 946, § 3; 1995, No. 963, § 3; 1997, No. 451, § 15; 1999, No. 920, § 1; 2001, No. 1178, § 1; 2007, No. 1020, § 4; 2009, No. 959, § 7; 2009, No. 1480, § 23.
Amendments. The 2007 amendment substituted “an elected” for “the elected” in (a)(1)(B); substituted “polling place” for “precinct” twice in (a)(2); and substituted “the paper ballot count at the polling site” for “the result of the election” in (a)(2)(F).
The 2009 amendment by No. 959 substituted “poll workers” for “election officials” in three places in (a)(2); and made a minor stylistic change in (c).
The 2009 amendment by No. 1480 deleted “as set forth in § 7-5-210” at the end of (a)(1)(A).
Case Notes
Ballot Boxes.
Sealed cardboard boxes which had no lock and key or numbered seal were not in substantial compliance with former law, but where they were identified by county treasurer who guarded them in vault at the courthouse and in locked closet at his home, integrity of the ballot was not impeached and no rights of candidates were prejudiced. Horne v. Fish, 198 Ark. 79, 127 S.W.2d 623 (1939) (decision under prior law).
Care of Ballots.
County treasurer in charge of ballots under former law was not required to place them where it would be impossible for someone, determined to do so, to break in and get to the ballots. Horne v. Fish, 198 Ark. 79, 127 S.W.2d 623 (1939) (decision under prior law).
Legislative Intent.
The language of subsection (b) does not demonstrate an intent on the part of the General Assembly to criminalize the delivery of election supplies by a sheriff in a contested reelection. State ex rel. Sargent v. Lewis, 335 Ark. 188, 979 S.W.2d 894 (1998).
Cited: Sargent v. Foster, 332 Ark. 608, 966 S.W.2d 263 (1998).