Ark. Code Ann. » Title 7 Chapter 05
Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-309 (2020)

Voting procedure

✓ Arkansas Code release r76: Acts through about 2020 (2021-2025 sessions missing)
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  1. Before giving the voter a preprinted paper ballot, a poll worker shall:
    1. Initial the back of the ballot;
    2. Remove the ballot stub; and
    3. Place the stub into the stub box provided.
      1. Upon receiving his or her ballot, the voter may mark the ballot appropriately at a voting booth, voting machine, or private voting place that allows for the voter to mark the ballot in secrecy so that no one may view how he or she voted.
      2. A voter shall not be allowed more than ten (10) minutes to mark his or her ballot.
    2. The voter or the voter's authorized assistant shall deposit the marked ballot into the ballot box provided.
  3. The voter shall not be required to sign, initial, or in any way identify himself or herself with the ballot, the ballot stub, or the list of voters other than in the manner provided in this section.
  4. [Repealed.]
  5. After having voted or having declined to vote, the voter shall immediately depart from the polling site.
  6. A person shall not carry a ballot outside of the polling place.
    1. If a paper ballot is left in the polling site outside of the ballot box after the voter has departed, a poll worker shall:
      1. Write “Abandoned” on the face of the paper ballot;
      2. Place the paper ballot into an envelope marked “Abandoned Ballot”;
      3. Note in writing on the outside of the envelope the circumstances surrounding the abandoned ballot; and
      4. Preserve the abandoned ballot separately.
    2. The county board of election commissioners shall not count the ballot.
    1. If an electronic vote tabulating device at the polling site has rejected a ballot that remains in the receiving part of the device, two (2) poll workers shall override warnings on the device and complete the process of casting the ballot only if:
      1. The voter has departed the polling site; and
      2. The voter did not indicate that he or she chose to cancel or replace the ballot.
    2. The poll workers shall document:
      1. The time;
      2. The name of the voter;
      3. The names of the poll workers completing the process of casting the ballot; and
      4. All other circumstances surrounding the abandoned ballot.

History. Acts 1969, No. 465, Art. 7, § 11; A.S.A. 1947, § 3-711; Acts 1997, No. 451, § 21; 2005, No. 880, § 2; 2007, No. 224, § 5; 2007, No. 834, § 1; 2009, No. 959, § 13; 2011, No. 1033, § 1; 2013, No. 1424, § 1; 2013, No. 1461, § 1; 2017, No. 908, § 1; 2019, No. 109, § 3; 2019, No. 534, § 1; 2019, No. 664, § 1.

Amendments. The 2009 amendment substituted “poll worker” for “election official,” “election officer,” or variant throughout the section; substituted “judge” for “officials” in (a)(4); and made minor stylistic changes.

The 2011 amendment substituted “voting booths for each polling site in a number deemed appropriate by the county board of election commissioners” for “in each polling site at least one (1) voting booth for each fifty (50) registered electors voting in the last preceding comparable election” in (a)(1).

The 2013 amendment by No. 1424 rewrote (a)(4), (c)(1)(A), and (c)(2); and inserted “or the voter's authorized assistant” in the introductory language of (g)(1) and in (h)(1).

The 2013 amendment by No. 1461 deleted former (a) and redesignated former (b), (c), (d)(1), and (d)(2) as present (a), (b), (c), and (d) respectively; substituted “appropriately” for “by placing an appropriate mark” in (b)(1)(A); in (b)(2), substituted “or the voter’s authorized assistant shall” for “shall then personally” and inserted “marked”; substituted “provided” for “set forth” in (c); substituted “declined to vote” for “having declined to do so” in (e); deleted “be permitted to” preceding “carry” in (f); and rewrote the introductory language of (g)(1) and (h)(1).

The 2017 amendment, in (b)(1)(A), substituted “may mark the ballot” for “shall proceed to mark it” and added “at a voting booth, voting machine, or private voting place that allows for the voter to mark the ballot in secrecy so that no one may view how he or she voted”.

The 2019 amendment by No. 109 inserted “preprinted paper” in the introductory language of (a).

The 2019 amendment by No. 534 repealed (d).

The 2019 amendment by No. 664 substituted “ten (10) minutes” for “five (5) minutes” in (b)(1)(B).

Case Notes

Ballot Stubs.

Election officials were correct in counting three ballots found the morning after the election, where plaintiff's complaint alleged no fraud, and did not challenge the qualifications of any voter casting ballots, and the voters whose ballots were belatedly counted were presumably registered, eligible voters whose only mistake was their failure to separate ballot stubs from their ballots and to place the stubs in the ballot stub box. Ashcraft v. Cox, 310 Ark. 703, 839 S.W.2d 219 (1992).

Secrecy.

Voter may waive his or her right to vote in secrecy. Certainly, no one may force a voter to cast an open ballot, and a voter may not be restrained from exercising his or her privilege of voting in secrecy; but if a voter desires to vote outside the confines of a voting booth, he or she may do so, and a voter is not required to avail himself or herself of the methods in place to ensure privacy. Hamaker v. Pulaski County Election Comm'n, 2011 Ark. 390 (2011).

Voting Squares.

An election to approve a library tax was invalid where 95% of the ballots furnished voters had no voting square for “against.” Gregory v. Gordon, 243 Ark. 635, 420 S.W.2d 825 (1967) (decision under prior law).

Wording on Ballot.

Ballot titles and ballot forms should be so worded that a voter need not hesitate, before casting his vote, to ponder over its consequences so he can feel assured that he is casting it according to his actual desire. Riviere v. Wells, 270 Ark. 206, 604 S.W.2d 560 (1980).

Write-In Votes.

Since an elector in a school election could write in the name of any person for whom he might wish to vote, he could alternatively, in the absence of fraud, paste a sticker bearing the name of a candidate on the ballot. Bennett v. Miller, 186 Ark. 413, 53 S.W.2d 853 (1932) (decision under prior law).

Write-in votes using printed stickers already marked with an X-mark was not improper as attempting to cast a write-in vote without the use of an X. Pace v. Hickey, 236 Ark. 792, 370 S.W.2d 66 (1963) (decision under prior law).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 1992–2000 · leading case: Womack v. Foster, 8 S.W.3d 854 (Ark. 2000).
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Womack v. Foster, 8 S.W.3d 854 (Ark. 2000). · cites it 4× “Ark.Code Ann. §§ 7-5-309, 315 (Supp.1999).”
Ashcraft v. Cox, 839 S.W.2d 219 (Ark. 1992). · cites it 2× “See Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-309 (1987). He urges that the three voters’ failure to follow these requirements invalidates their respective ballots and precludes their votes from being counted.”
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