Ark. Code Ann. § 7-7-301 (2026)
Party pledges, affidavits of eligibility, and party filing fees
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A political party may impose a filing fee for candidates seeking nomination by that party. The filing fee for county, municipal, and township offices shall be fixed by the county committee, as authorized by the state executive committee. For all other races, the filing fee shall be established by the state executive committee. On or before noon of the last day of the political party filing period, all candidates at primary elections of political parties shall file an affidavit of eligibility and any pledge required by such party and shall pay the party filing fees required by the party, as follows:
- Candidates for United States Senator, for United States Representative, and for all state offices shall file the pledge and the affidavit of eligibility and pay the party filing fees with the secretary of the state committee of the political party or his or her designated agent;
- Candidates for district offices, including, but not limited to, the offices of State Representative and State Senator, shall file the pledge and affidavit of eligibility with the secretary of the state committee of the political party or his or her designated agent and pay the party filing fees with the secretary of the state committee of the political party or his or her designated agent; and
- All candidates for county, municipal, and township offices, candidates for county committee member, and delegates to the county convention shall file the pledge and the affidavit of eligibility and pay the party filing fees with the secretary of the county committee of the political party.
- The county clerk shall not accept for filing the political practices pledge of any candidate for nomination by a political party to any county, township, or partisan municipal office, nor shall the Secretary of State accept for filing the political practices pledge of any candidate for nomination by a political party to any state or district office, unless the candidate first files a party certificate.
- Any candidate who shall fail to file the party pledge and affidavit of eligibility and pay the party filing fee at the time and in the manner as provided in this section shall not receive a party certificate and shall not have his or her name printed on the ballot at any primary election.
- The names of candidates who file with the state committee as provided in this section shall be certified to the various county committees and the various county boards of election commissioners in the manner and at the time provided in § 7-7-203.
History. Acts 1969, No. 465, Art. 1, § 9; 1977, No. 169, § 1; A.S.A. 1947, § 3-109; Acts 1995, No. 901, § 5; 1997, No. 886, § 5; 2003, No. 1731, § 5; 2009, No. 1480, § 43.
Amendments. The 2009 amendment inserted “affidavits of eligibility” in the section heading; inserted “and the affidavit of eligibility” or variants throughout; rewrote the last sentence of the introductory language of (a); deleted (b) and redesignated the remaining subsections accordingly; inserted “receive a party certificate and shall not” in (c); and substituted “§ 7-7-203” for “§ 7-7-203(d)” in (d).
Research References
Ark. L. Rev.
The Constitutionality of Filing Fees for Political Candidates in Primary Elections: An Arkansas Analysis, 30 Ark. L. Rev. 49.
Case Notes
Constitutionality.
Allegations by plaintiff that ballot fees collected under this section were unreasonably high, where the plaintiff did not know the total of ballot fees collected for the period in question, stated a conclusion rather than a fact as required by Ark. R. Civ. P. 8; thus there was no basis for finding that this section was contrary to any principle of constitutional law. Moorman v. Pulaski County Democratic Party, 271 Ark. 908, 611 S.W.2d 519 (1981).
Deadline for Payment.
Candidate, who sent in his check for ballot fee on last permissible day, but whose check did not clear the bank when presented some days later did not pay ballot fee within designated period, though candidate tendered the cash for check as soon as he was informed that check had not cleared. Fletcher v. Ray, 220 Ark. 844, 250 S.W.2d 734 (1952) (decision under prior law).
A candidate for public office was not eligible for that office as his payment of the required filing fee by personal check that was returned for insufficient funds when presented to the bank for payment did not constitute payment prior to the filing deadline. Jacobs v. Yates, 342 Ark. 243, 27 S.W.3d 734 (2000).
Party Pledges.
This legislation and § 7-7-203 leave it up to the political party to determine whether or not a party loyalty oath is required. Baker v. Jacobs, 303 Ark. 460, 798 S.W.2d 63 (1990).
Political Practices Pledge.
Failure to timely file a political practices pledge with the Secretary of State as required by § 7-6-102 is reason enough to prevent a candidate's name from appearing on the ballot. Lewis v. West, 318 Ark. 334, 885 S.W.2d 663 (1994).
Cited: Rock v. Byrant, 459 F. Supp. 64 (E.D. Ark. 1978); State ex rel. Robinson v. Craighead County Bd. of Election Comm'rs, 300 Ark. 405, 779 S.W.2d 169 (1989); Hill v. Carter, 357 Ark. 597, 184 S.W.3d 431 (2004).