Ark. Code Ann. § 7-7-305 (2020)
Printing of ballots — Form — Draw for ballot position
- The ballots of the primary election shall be provided by the county board of election commissioners. The form of the ballots shall be the same as is provided by law for ballots in general elections in this state. A different color ballot may be used to distinguish between political parties.
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- The order in which the names of the respective candidates are to appear on the ballots at all preferential and general primary elections shall be determined by lot at the public meeting of the county board of election commissioners held not later than:
- The county board of election commissioners shall give at least ten (10) days' written notice of the time and place of the meeting to the chairs of the county committees if the chairs are not members of the county board of election commissioners, and at least three (3) days before the meeting, shall publish notice of the time and place of holding the meeting in some newspaper of general circulation in the county.
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- A person who files for an elective office in this state may use not more than three (3) given names, one (1) of which may be a nickname or any other word used to identify the person to the voters, and may add as a prefix to his or her name the title or an abbreviation of an elective public office the person currently holds.
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A person may use as the prefix the title of a nonpartisan judicial office in an election for a nonpartisan judicial office only if:
- The person is currently serving in a nonpartisan judicial office to which the person has been elected in the last election for the office; or
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The person:
- Is a candidate for the office of circuit judge or district judge;
- Is currently serving in the office of circuit judge or district judge as an appointee; and
- Has been serving in that position for at least twelve (12) months.
- A nickname shall not include a professional or honorary title.
- The person filing for office shall include his or her surname in addition to any given names permitted under subdivision (c)(1)(A) of this section.
- The names and titles as proposed to be used by each candidate on the political practices pledge or, if the political practices pledge is not filed by the filing deadline, then the names and titles that appear on the party certificate shall be reviewed no later than one (1) business day after the filing deadline by the Secretary of State for state and district offices and by the county board of election commissioners for county, township, school, and municipal offices.
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- The name of every candidate shall be printed on the ballot in the form as certified by either the Secretary of State or the county board of election commissioners.
- However, the county board of election commissioners may substitute an abbreviated title if the ballot lacks space for the title requested by a candidate.
- The county board of election commissioners shall immediately notify a candidate whose requested title is abbreviated by the county board of election commissioners.
- A candidate shall not be permitted to change the form in which his or her name will be printed on the ballot after the deadline for filing the political practices pledge.
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History. Acts 1969, No. 465, Art. 1, § 14; 1971, No. 261, § 7; A.S.A. 1947, § 3-114; Acts 1991, No. 408, § 1; 1995, No. 901, § 9; 1999, No. 1335, § 1; 2001, No. 799, § 1; 2001, No. 1835, § 1; 2003, No. 1731, § 6; 2007, No. 559, § 6; 2007, No. 1020, § 16; 2007, No. 1049, § 27; 2009, No. 959, § 39; 2011, No. 1185, § 11; 2013, No. 1075, § 1; 2015 (1st Ex. Sess.), No. 4, § 3; 2019, No. 527, § 1; 2019, No. 545, § 4.
A.C.R.C. Notes. Acts 2015, (1st Ex. Sess.), No. 4, § 6, provided:
“(a) To ensure that independent candidates are provided the maximum number of days allowed by law to circulate petitions to qualify as an independent candidate, the provisions of this act are retroactive to August 1, 2015.
“(b) Signatures on a petition to have the name of a person placed upon the ballot as an independent candidate under § 7-7-103 collected between August 11, 2015, and the effective date of this act shall be counted if:
“(1) The signatures are not otherwise collected in violation of Arkansas law;
“(2) The signatures otherwise comply with applicable Arkansas law; and
“(3) The petition is lawfully filed.”
Acts 2015, (1st Ex. Sess.), No. 4, § 7, provided:
“(a) This act is cumulative of existing laws and shall not repeal but merely suspend any law in conflict with the act.
“(b) The provisions of this act are temporary and expire on December 31, 2016.
“(c) On and after December 31, 2016, the provisions of law suspended by this act shall be in full force and effect.
“(d) The expiration of this act shall not affect rights acquired under it or affect suits then pending.”
Amendments. The 2007 amendment by No. 559 substituted “Secretary of State” for “State Board of Election Commissioners” in (c)(2), and for “state board” in (c)(3).
The 2007 amendment by No. 1020, in (b), substituted “board of election commissioners” for “committee,” “The county board shall give ten” for “Ten,” and “meeting to the county committee and shall” for “meeting shall be given each member by the chair, vice-chair, or secretary of the committee. The chair, vice chair, or secretary shall.”
The 2007 amendment by No. 1049 substituted “sixty-five (65) days” for “thirty-five (35) days” in (b).
The 2009 amendment, in (b), deleted “including candidates for federal, state, and local offices and including persons nominated for committee members and delegates to the county convention, and the order in which issues and measures” following “candidates,” inserted “at least” and “chairs of the,” and substituted “committees, if the chairs are not members of the board, and shall, at least three (3) days before the meeting” for “committee and shall”; substituted “use as the prefix the title of a judicial office” for “use the prefix ‘Judge’, ‘Justice’, or ‘Chief Justice’” in (c)(1)(B); inserted (c)(3)(B) and (c)(3)(C); and made minor stylistic changes.
The 2011 amendment substituted “seventy-two (72)” for “sixty-five (65)” in (b).
The 2013 amendment rewrote (c)(1) and added (c)(1)(B)(ii).
The 2015 (1st Ex. Sess.) amendment substituted “eighty-nine (89) days” for “seventy-two (72) days” in the first sentence of (b).
The 2019 amendment by No. 527 inserted (c)(2), and redesignated the remaining subdivisions accordingly.
The 2019 amendment by No. 545 added the (b)(1), (b)(1)(A), and (b)(2) designations; substituted “a preferential primary election that is held in May under § 7-7-203” for “the preferential primary election” in (b)(1)(A); added (b)(1)(B); and substituted “the county board of election commissioners, and at least” for “the board, and at least” in (b)(2).
Case Notes
Judicial Candidate Title.
Although, contrary to § 7-10-103, an appointed district court judge who had filed as a candidate for the Court of Appeals erroneously used the title “Judge” in her signature of the political practices pledge, section 7-10-103 did not restrict courts from ordering a change on the ballot and curent law only sanctioned those who did not sign the pledge; there was no penalty for those found to have included inaccurate information on the pledge. Barrett v. Thurston, 2020 Ark. 36 (2020).
Surname.
Appointed district court judge who had filed as a candidate for the Court of Appeals was not disqualified because she used her maiden surname on the political practices pledge rather than her married surname. The record indicated that the candidate was known professionally by her maiden name, and her use of her maiden name on the ballot title did not serve to undermine the spirit of the political practices pledge by obfuscating her true identity, nor did it run afoul of this section, which requires only that a candidate use their “surname”. Barrett v. Thurston, 2020 Ark. 36 (2020).
Cited: Republican Party v. Faulkner County, 49 F.3d 1289 (8th Cir. 1995); Citizens to Establish a Reform Party v. Priest, 325 Ark. 257, 926 S.W.2d 432 (1996).