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Arkansas Senate Bill SB247

Arkansas 2025 Regular Session

Arkansas Senate Bill SB247 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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11 Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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33 State of Arkansas 1
44 95th General Assembly A Bill 2
55 Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 247 3
66 4
77 By: Senator C. Tucker 5
88 6
99 7
1010 For An Act To Be Entitled 8
1111 AN ACT TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ABSENTEE VOTER 9
1212 INTEGRITY ACT OF 2025; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING 10
1313 COUNTING ABSENTEE BALLOTS; TO AMEND THE LAW 11
1414 CONCERNING ELECTIONS; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE 12
1515 DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE; AND FOR OTHER 13
1616 PURPOSES. 14
1717 15
1818 16
1919 Subtitle 17
2020 TO CREATE THE ARKANSAS ABSENTEE VOTER 18
2121 INTEGRITY ACT OF 2025; TO AMEND THE LAW 19
2222 CONCERNING COUNTING ABSENTEE BALLOTS; TO 20
2323 AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS; AND 21
2424 TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING THE DUTIES 22
2525 OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE. 23
2626 24
2727 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 25
2828 26
2929 SECTION 1. DO NOT CODIFY. Title. 27
3030 This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Arkansas Absentee 28
3131 Voter Integrity Act of 2025". 29
3232 30
3333 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 7 -5-416 is amended to read as follows: 31
3434 7-5-416. Counting of absentee ballots —— Definition. 32
3535 (a)(1) The election officials for absentee ballots shall meet in a 33
3636 place designated by the county board of election commissioners no earlier 34
3737 than the Tuesday before the election for the purpose of opening the outer 35
3838 envelope, processing, and canvassing of absentee ballot paper work of the 36 SB247
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4141 outer envelope and no earlier than 8:30 a.m. on election day for the purpose 1
4242 of opening the inner absentee ballot envelope and counting the absentee 2
4343 ballots. 3
4444 (2) The absentee ballots shall be tabulated or counted no 4
4545 earlier than 8:30 a.m. on election day. 5
4646 (3) The county board of election commissioners shall: 6
4747 (A) Give public notice of the time and location of the 7
4848 opening, processing, canvassing, and counting of absentee ballots and early 8
4949 voting ballots as provided in § 7 -5-202; and 9
5050 (B) Allow public access for the in -person viewing of the 10
5151 absentee canvassing process. 11
5252 (3)(4) The county clerk shall provide the county board of 12
5353 election commissioners with a daily count of absentee applications received, 13
5454 to be reported weekly or upon request of the county board of election 14
5555 commissioners. 15
5656 (4)(5) The county clerk shall provide the county board of 16
5757 election commissioners with a daily count of absentee ballots received, to be 17
5858 reported weekly or upon request of the county board of election 18
5959 commissioners. 19
6060 (5)(6) The county clerk shall forward the following items to the 20
6161 election officials designated by the county board of election commissioners 21
6262 to open, process, canvass, and count absentee ballots: 22
6363 (A) The absentee ballot applications sorted alphabetically 23
6464 and by precinct; 24
6565 (B) The absentee ballots; and 25
6666 (C) A written report containing the following information: 26
6767 (i) The number of absentee ballot applications 27
6868 received by the county clerk; 28
6969 (ii) The number of absentee ballots sent by the 29
7070 county clerk; 30
7171 (iii) The number of absentee ballots returned to the 31
7272 county clerk; 32
7373 (iv) The number of absentee ballots rejected by the 33
7474 county clerk and the reason for the rejection; 34
7575 (v) The number of absentee ballots marked as 35
7676 received on the paper absentee ballot applications list; and 36 SB247
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7979 (vi) If the number of absentee ballots returned to 1
8080 the county clerk and the number of absentee ballots marked as received on the 2
8181 paper absentee ballot lists are different and the reason for the difference 3
8282 is known, the reason for the difference. 4
8383 (6)(7) The processing and counting of absentee ballots shall be 5
8484 open to the public, and candidates and authorized poll watchers may be 6
8585 present in person or by a representative designated in writing under § 7 -5-7
8686 312 during the opening, processing, canvassing, and counting of the absentee 8
8787 ballots as provided in this subchapter. 9
8888 (7)(A)(8)(A) The county board of election commissioners shall 10
8989 begin tabulating absentee ballots and early votes before the polls close on 11
9090 election day and continue counting absentee votes until all absentee votes, 12
9191 except for overseas voters as otherwise provided under this section, and 13
9292 early votes are counted and completed before counting or tabulating election 14
9393 day votes Absentee and early votes shall be counted prior to the closing of 15
9494 the polls on election day as provided under this section . 16
9595 (B)(i) The county board of election commissioners shall 17
9696 report by precinct the initial count of early votes and absentee ballot votes 18
9797 to the Secretary of State as provided under § 7 -5-701 as soon as practical 19
9898 after the polls close on election day. 20
9999 (ii) No election results of the precinct shall be 21
100100 printed, posted, or released until after the polls close on election day. 22
101101 (8)(A)(9)(A) After the outer envelope of an absentee ballot is 23
102102 opened, a county clerk and deputies of the county clerk shall not have access 24
103103 to: 25
104104 (i) The absentee ballots; 26
105105 (ii) Absentee ballot paperwork; or 27
106106 (iii) The inner envelope of an absentee ballot. 28
107107 (B) The county board of election commissioners may grant a 29
108108 county clerk or deputies of the county clerk access to the absentee ballot 30
109109 materials in subdivision (a)(8)(A) (a)(9)(A) of this section if the access is 31
110110 granted by an affirmative vote of the county board of election commissioners 32
111111 for a specific purpose and for a designated election. 33
112112 (b)(1) The opening, processing, counting, and canvassing of absentee 34
113113 ballots absentee ballot materials shall be conducted opened by two (2) 35
114114 election officials as follows: 36 SB247
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117117 (A) One (1) of the election officials shall open outer 1
118118 absentee ballot envelopes one by one and verify the contents locate the 2
119119 required voter materials ; 3
120120 (B) If the required materials are properly placed in the 4
121121 outer absentee ballot envelope, the election official shall proceed to read 5
122122 aloud from the voter statement the name of the voter; The election officials 6
123123 shall: 7
124124 (i) Read aloud from the voter statement the name of 8
125125 the voter and the voting precinct in which the voter claims to be a legal 9
126126 voter; 10
127127 (ii) List the name and voting precinct of the voter; 11
128128 (iii) Compare the voter materials as provided under 12
129129 subdivision (b)(2) of this section; and 13
130130 (iv) For first-time voters who registered by mail, 14
131131 compare the first-time voter's identification document unless the voter 15
132132 previously provided identification at the time of mailing the voter 16
133133 registration application; 17
134134 (C) If the required materials are not properly placed in 18
135135 the outer absentee ballot envelope, a: 19
136136 (i) A second election official shall open the inner 20
137137 absentee ballot envelope to verify the contents locate the required voter 21
138138 materials no earlier than 8:30 a.m. on election day; and 22
139139 (D)(ii) If all required materials are present within one 23
140140 (1) or the other envelope, the The election officials shall put place the 24
141141 absentee ballot materials, while preserving the secrecy of the voter's ballot 25
142142 within the inner absentee envelope, in the proper an envelope while 26
143143 preserving the secrecy of the voter's ballot and shall proceed to read aloud 27
144144 from the voter statement the name of the voter and the voting precinct in 28
145145 which the voter claims to be a legal voter; marked "provisional", and the 29
146146 absentee ballot shall be considered a provisional ballot; and 30
147147 (E) As each outer envelope is opened and the name of the 31
148148 voter is read, the election officials for the absentee box shall list the 32
149149 name and voting precinct of the voter; 33
150150 (D) If the required materials are properly placed in the 34
151151 outer absentee envelope, then the election officials shall compare the voter 35
152152 materials as provided under subdivision (b)(2) of this section. 36 SB247
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155155 (2)(A) After the opening of the absentee ballot materials, the 1
156156 two (2) election officials shall canvass and compare the absentee ballot 2
157157 materials as follows: 3
158158 (i) The election officials shall compare all 4
159159 absentee ballot materials returned, except the voter's ballot, which shall be 5
160160 maintained within the inner absentee ballot envelope to preserve the secrecy 6
161161 of the ballot, including without limitation: 7
162162 (a) Absentee ballot applications; 8
163163 (b) Voter statements; 9
164164 (c) A voter's voter identity documentation; 10
165165 and 11
166166 (d) Any additional information or 12
167167 documentation provided by the voter in the absentee ballot envelope; 13
168168 (ii) The election officials shall review the 14
169169 absentee ballot materials to determine whether: 15
170170 (a) The voter's name, residential voting 16
171171 address, date of birth, and signature are comparable; 17
172172 (b) The voter identification document, voter 18
173173 statement, and inner envelope containing the absentee ballot are present; and 19
174174 (c) If a designated bearer, authorized agent, 20
175175 or administrator delivers the ballot, the name of the designated bearer, 21
176176 authorized agent, or administrator written on the absentee ballot application 22
177177 compares with the information on the voter statement; 23
178178 (F)(i) After the election official reads aloud from the 24
179179 statement, the election officials shall compare the name, address, date of 25
180180 birth, and signature of the voter's absentee application with the voter's 26
181181 statement and, for first -time voters who registered by mail, the first -time 27
182182 voter's identification document unless the voter previously provided 28
183183 identification at the time of mailing the voter registration application. 29
184184 (ii) If the county board of election commissioners 30
185185 determines that the absentee application and the voter's statement do not 31
186186 compare as to name, residential voting address, date of birth, and signature, 32
187187 the absentee ballot shall not be counted. 33
188188 (iii) The election officials shall place the 34
189189 absentee ballot materials, including the inner envelope containing the 35
190190 ballot, in an envelope marked "provisional", and the absentee ballot shall be 36 SB247
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193193 considered a provisional ballot if: 1
194194 (a) The absentee application and the voter's 2
195195 statement do not compare as to name, residential voting address, date of 3
196196 birth, or signature; or 4
197197 (b) A designated bearer, authorized agent, or 5
198198 administrator delivers the ballot, and the name of the designated bearer, 6
199199 authorized agent, or administrator does not compare with the information on 7
200200 the voter statement; 8
201201 (iv) If a first-time voter fails to provide the 9
202202 required voter identification with the absentee ballot or at the time of 10
203203 mailing the voter registration application, then the absentee application, 11
204204 absentee ballot envelope, and voter's statement shall be placed in an 12
205205 envelope marked “provisional” and the absentee ballot shall be considered a 13
206206 provisional ballot; or if any other voter fails to provide the required voter 14
207207 identification with the absentee ballot, the election officials shall place 15
208208 the absentee ballot materials including the inner envelope containing the 16
209209 ballot in an envelope marked "provisional", and the absentee ballot shall be 17
210210 considered a provisional ballot; 18
211211 (v) The ballot shall be designated to be counted or 19
212212 tabulated if: 20
213213 (a) All required absentee ballot materials are 21
214214 present; 22
215215 (b) The voter’s name, residential voting 23
216216 address, date of birth, and signature compare; and 24
217217 (c) If a designated bearer, authorized agent, 25
218218 or administrator delivered the ballot, the name of the designated bearer, 26
219219 authorized agent, or administrator written on the absentee ballot application 27
220220 compares with the information on the voter statement; and 28
221221 (vi) The absentee ballot materials shall be 29
222222 transmitted to the county board of election commissioners for additional 30
223223 review if: 31
224224 (a) Any required absentee ballot materials are 32
225225 missing; 33
226226 (b) The voter's name, residential voting 34
227227 address, date of birth, and signature do not compare; or 35
228228 (c) If a designated bearer, authorized agent, 36 SB247
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231231 or administrator delivers the ballot, the name of the designated bearer, 1
232232 authorized agent, or administrator does not compare with the information on 2
233233 the voter statement. 3
234234 (B)(i) A member of a county board of election 4
235235 commissioners, acting in his or her individual capacity as an election 5
236236 official, may perform the duties under subdivision (b)(2)(A) of this section. 6
237237 (ii) However, performance of the duties under 7
238238 subdivision (b)(2)(A) of this section by a member of the county board of 8
239239 election commissioners shall not satisfy or serve as performance of the 9
240240 duties of the whole county board of election commissioners under subdivision 10
241241 (b)(3) of this section. 11
242242 (3) After canvassing and comparison by the election officials, 12
243243 the absentee ballot materials shall be canvassed and compared by the county 13
244244 board of election commissioners as follows: 14
245245 (A)(i) The county board of election commissioners shall 15
246246 review the absentee ballot materials transmitted to it under subdivision 16
247247 (b)(2)(A)(vi) of this section. 17
248248 (ii) The county board of election commissioners may: 18
249249 (a) Review the absentee ballot materials that 19
250250 were designated to be counted or tabulated by the election officials before 20
251251 counting or tabulation; and 21
252252 (b) Accept the designation of the election 22
253253 officials that the ballot is to be counted or reverse the designation of the 23
254254 election officials and mark the ballot as provisional; 24
255255 (B)(i) A ballot shall be counted or tabulated if the: 25
256256 (a) Required absentee ballot materials are 26
257257 present; 27
258258 (b) Voter's name, residential voting address, 28
259259 date of birth, and signatures compare; and 29
260260 (c) If a designated bearer, authorized agent, 30
261261 or administrator delivered the ballot, the name of the designated bearer, 31
262262 authorized agent, or administrator written on the absentee ballot application 32
263263 compares with the information on the voter statement. 33
264264 (ii) The absentee ballot materials and the absentee 34
265265 ballot shall be placed in an envelope marked “provisional” and the absentee 35
266266 ballot shall be considered a provisional ballot if: 36 SB247
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269269 (a) The required absentee ballot materials are 1
270270 incomplete or missing; 2
271271 (b) The voter’s name, residential voting 3
272272 address, date of birth, and signature do not compare; or 4
273273 (c) If a designated bearer, authorized agent, 5
274274 or administrator delivers the ballot, the name of the designated bearer, 6
275275 authorized agent, or administrator does not compare with the information on 7
276276 the voter statement; 8
277277 (G)(i) The election officials shall compare the name and 9
278278 address of the bearer, agent, or administrator written on the absentee ballot 10
279279 return envelope with the information on the voter statement. If the 11
280280 information does not match, then the outer envelope, absentee application, 12
281281 secrecy envelope containing the ballot, and the voter's statement shall be 13
282282 placed in an envelope marked “provisional” and the absentee ballot shall be 14
283283 considered a provisional ballot. 15
284284 (ii) The election officials shall compare the name 16
285285 of the bearer written on the absentee ballot application with the information 17
286286 on the voter statement, and if the information does not compare, the ballot 18
287287 shall be a provisional ballot. 19
288288 (iii) An absentee ballot designated as a provisional 20
289289 ballot for the lack of a designation of, or name of, a designated bearer 21
290290 shall be counted only if the county board of election commissioners does not 22
291291 determine that the provisional ballot is invalid and should not be counted 23
292292 based on other grounds; 24
293293 (H) If the absentee voter fails to return the voter 25
294294 statement, the vote shall not be counted; 26
295295 (I)(C) Failure of the voter to submit the required 27
296296 absentee materials in the proper envelopes shall not be grounds for 28
297297 disqualifying the voter; and 29
298298 (D)(i) An absentee ballot that has been designated 30
299299 provisional shall be cured according to the procedure set out in Arkansas 31
300300 Constitution, Amendment 51, § 13(b)(5)(A) and (B) if, upon a public vote, the 32
301301 county board of election commissioners determines that the absentee ballot: 33
302302 (a) Does not include the required voter 34
303303 identification with the absentee ballot materials; 35
304304 (b) Does not include the voter statement with 36 SB247
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307307 the absentee ballot materials; 1
308308 (c) Has a signature that does not compare; or 2
309309 (d) Has an address on the voter statement that 3
310310 is materially and substantially different from either the voting residence 4
311311 address of the voter or the address at which the voter requested to receive 5
312312 the absentee ballot by mail as set forth on the absentee ballot application. 6
313313 (ii) An absentee ballot that has otherwise been 7
314314 designated provisional under this section may be cured by the voter: 8
315315 (a) By 12:00 noon the Monday following the 9
316316 election; 10
317317 (b) In person or in writing to the county 11
318318 clerk, county board of election commissioners, or appropriately designated 12
319319 staff or election officials; and 13
320320 (c) By: 14
321321 (1) Providing or correcting the absentee 15
322322 ballot materials or verification if the reason for designation as a 16
323323 provisional ballot was an incomplete submission; 17
324324 (2) Verifying in writing under penalty 18
325325 of perjury that he or she voted the ballot received by the county clerk if 19
326326 the reason for designation as a provisional ballot was that: 20
327327 (A) The voter's name, residential 21
328328 voting address, except as set out under subdivision (b)(3)(D)(i)(d) of this 22
329329 section, date of birth, or signature did not compare; or 23
330330 (B) If a designated bearer, 24
331331 authorized agent, or administrator delivered the ballot, and the name of the 25
332332 designated bearer, authorized agent, or administrator did not compare with 26
333333 the information on the voter statement; or 27
334334 (3) Reviewing the ballot located inside 28
335335 the inner envelope marked as provisional in a private and independent manner 29
336336 to verify that the ballot marked as provisional is the ballot submitted by 30
337337 the voter. 31
338338 (iii) An absentee ballot shall not be counted if the 32
339339 absentee ballot has been marked provisional and is not cured under either 33
340340 subdivision (b)(3)(D)(i) or subdivision (b)(3)(D)(ii) of this section. 34
341341 (iv) An absentee ballot designated as a provisional 35
342342 ballot for the lack of a designation of, or name of, a designated bearer, 36 SB247
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345345 authorized agent, or administrator shall be counted only if the county board 1
346346 of election commissioners does not determine that the provisional ballot is 2
347347 invalid and should not be counted based on other grounds. 3
348348 (J) If the voter statement does not authorize a bearer, 4
349349 agent, or administrator to receive or return his or her absentee ballot and 5
350350 the ballot was received or returned by a bearer, agent, or administrator, the 6
351351 vote shall not be counted; 7
352352 (4) Absentee ballot information is comparable or compares if, 8
353353 after a review of the information available to the election official or 9
354354 county board of election commissioners, the election official or county board 10
355355 of election commissioners determines that the absentee ballot that was 11
356356 submitted was voted by the person in whose name the absentee ballot was 12
357357 submitted after review of that person's address or other information that was 13
358358 submitted with the absentee ballot, absentee ballot application, voter 14
359359 statement, voter identification, or other documentation possessed by, on file 15
360360 with, or available to the county clerk or the county board of election 16
361361 commissioners. 17
362362 (5)(A)(i) After an absentee ballot is designated by an election 18
363363 official or by the county board of election commissioners as provisional, the 19
364364 county board of election commissioners shall notify the voter of the deadline 20
365365 and process for curing his or her absentee ballot as soon as possible but no 21
366366 later than forty-eight (48) hours after the absentee ballot is designated as 22
367367 a provisional ballot. 23
368368 (ii) The county board of election commissioners 24
369369 shall notify the voter of the deadline and process for curing his or her 25
370370 absentee ballot by email, telephone, and text message as soon as possible but 26
371371 no later than forty-eight (48) hours after the absentee ballot is designated 27
372372 as a provisional ballot if the voter's email address or telephone number is 28
373373 available. 29
374374 (iii) If a voter has not provided an email address 30
375375 or telephone number, the county board of election commissioners shall notify 31
376376 the voter of the deadline and process for curing his or her absentee ballot 32
377377 by mail as soon as possible but no later than forty -eight (48) hours after 33
378378 the absentee ballot is designated as a provisional ballot. 34
379379 (B) As used in this section, "cure" a ballot means to 35
380380 remove or repair the issue causing a ballot not to be counted through the 36 SB247
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383383 process set forth in this section, such that the ballot shall then be 1
384384 counted. 2
385385 (C)(i) If an absentee ballot that was previously 3
386386 designated as needing additional review under subdivision (b)(2)(A)(vi) of 4
387387 this section is reviewed by the county board of election commissioners and 5
388388 approved to be counted or tabulated without being designated as provisional, 6
389389 the county board of election commissioners shall, by email, telephone, and 7
390390 text message, if the voter's email address or telephone number is available, 8
391391 notify the voter as soon as possible but no later than forty -eight (48) hours 9
392392 after the absentee ballot is approved that he or she no longer needs to cure 10
393393 his or her ballot. 11
394394 (ii) If a voter has not provided an email address or 12
395395 telephone number, the county board of election commissioners shall notify the 13
396396 voter by mail as soon as possible but no later than forty -eight (48) hours 14
397397 after the absentee ballot is approved that he or she no longer needs to cure 15
398398 his or her ballot. 16
399399 (6)(A) After all of the outer envelopes have been opened, the 17
400400 election officials of the absentee box shall preserve all the statements of 18
401401 voters, the voters' identification documents, and all other materials 19
402402 submitted with the absentee ballot except the ballot itself and deliver them 20
403403 to the county clerk, who shall file and keep them for the same length of time 21
404404 after the election as is required for the retention of other ballots. 22
405405 (B) The voter statements shall be made available for 23
406406 public inspection and copying during regular business hours no earlier than 24
407407 8:30 a.m. on the day following the actual delivery of the statement of the 25
408408 number of outstanding ballots and provisional ballots to the Secretary of 26
409409 State, and declaration of preliminary and unofficial results of the election 27
410410 under § 7-5-701(a)(3)(C). 28
411411 (C) The voters' identification documents shall not be 29
412412 subject to public inspection except as part of a recount or judicial 30
413413 proceeding to contest the election. 31
414414 (7) The absentee ballots that have been designated to be counted 32
415415 or tabulated shall be opened and processed for counting or tabulation as 33
416416 follows: 34
417417 (K)(A) If no challenge is made by a qualified poll watcher, 35
418418 the election official shall remove the inner envelope , from the absentee 36 SB247
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421421 ballot materials without opening the inner envelope containing the ballot, 1
422422 and place it in the ballot a box designated for ballots to be counted or 2
423423 tabulated without marking it in any way; 3
424424 (B) When all of the inner envelopes containing the ballots 4
425425 have been placed in the ballot box, the ballot box shall be shaken thoroughly 5
426426 to mix the ballots in such a way to ensure that the inner envelopes 6
427427 containing the ballots shall be randomized; and 7
428428 (C) The ballot box shall be opened and the ballots shall 8
429429 be removed from the inner envelopes, canvassed, and counted. 9
430430 (8) After the counting and tabulation, the county board of 10
431431 election commissioners shall preserve all absentee ballots and absentee 11
432432 ballot materials and shall retain them as election materials for the same 12
433433 length of time after the election as is required for retention of other 13
434434 ballots. 14
435435 (9)(A) If after review of the absentee ballot materials an 15
436436 election official or the county board of election commissioners suspects that 16
437437 an absentee ballot was fraudulently submitted, the county board of election 17
438438 commissioners shall: 18
439439 (i) File complaints concerning the ballot with the 19
440440 State Board of Election Commissioners and the county prosecuting attorney no 20
441441 later than thirty (30) days after certification of the election; 21
442442 (ii) Provide copies of the relevant absentee ballot 22
443443 materials, and the county clerk shall provide any relevant absentee ballot 23
444444 materials in their possession; 24
445445 (iii) Fully assist all appropriate law enforcement 25
446446 agencies in the investigation; and 26
447447 (iv) Notify all candidates of any affected race. 27
448448 (B) A ballot is not automatically considered fraudulently 28
449449 submitted merely because it was not counted because: 29
450450 (i) Not all the required voter materials were 30
451451 included; 31
452452 (ii) The voter materials did not compare; or 32
453453 (iii) A designated bearer, authorized agent, or 33
454454 administrator delivered the ballot, and the name of the designated bearer, 34
455455 authorized agent, or administrator did not compare with the information on 35
456456 the voter statement; 36 SB247
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459459 (C) A ballot is not automatically considered fraudulently 1
460460 submitted if the voter’s actions did not indicate or evince an intention to 2
461461 violate the election laws of Arkansas or those of the United States 3
462462 Government. 4
463463 (D) A ballot is fraudulently submitted if a voter 5
464464 knowingly violates voting laws, including without limitation by submitting: 6
465465 (i) More than one (1) ballot; 7
466466 (ii) A ballot under a false identity; or 8
467467 (iii) A ballot on behalf of another person without 9
468468 that person's lawful authorization. 10
469469 (L)(i) After all of the outer envelopes have been opened, 11
470470 the election officials of the absentee box shall preserve all the statements 12
471471 of voters and the voters' identification documents and deliver them to the 13
472472 county clerk, who shall file and keep them for the same length of time after 14
473473 the election as is required for retention of other ballots. 15
474474 (ii) The voter statements shall be made available 16
475475 for public inspection and copying during regular business hours no earlier 17
476476 than 8:30 a.m. on the day following the actual delivery of the statement of 18
477477 the number of outstanding ballots and provisional ballots to the Secretary of 19
478478 State, and declaration of preliminary and unofficial results of the election 20
479479 under § 7-5-701(a)(3)(C). 21
480480 (iii) The voters' identification documents shall not 22
481481 be subject to public inspection except as part of a judicial proceeding to 23
482482 contest the election; 24
483483 (M) When all of the inner envelopes containing the ballots 25
484484 have been placed in the ballot box, the ballot box shall be shaken thoroughly 26
485485 to mix the ballots; and 27
486486 (N) The ballot box shall be opened and the ballots 28
487487 canvassed and counted. 29
488488 (2)(10) No election results shall be printed or released prior 30
489489 to the closing of the polls on election day. 31
490490 (c) If any person casting an absentee ballot dies before the polls 32
491491 open on election day, his or her ballot shall be accepted by the county clerk 33
492492 if the absentee ballot is: 34
493493 (1) Signed, dated, postmarked, and mailed before the date of 35
494494 death; 36 SB247
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497497 (2) Signed, dated, and delivered to the county clerk by a 1
498498 designated bearer, authorized agent, or administrator before the date of 2
499499 death; or 3
500500 (3) The ballot of a member of the armed services or Arkansas 4
501501 National Guard in active duty or state active duty executed before the date 5
502502 of death. 6
503503 (d) It is the intent of this section to require the election officials 7
504504 for absentee ballots to meet and process, canvass, and count absentee ballots 8
505505 according to this section prior to the closing of the polls on election day. 9
506506 (e)(1)(d)(1) Absentee votes shall be cast on paper ballots. 10
507507 (2)(A) The ballots shall first be counted for write -in votes by 11
508508 the election officials. 12
509509 (B) Then, at the discretion of the county board of 13
510510 election commissioners, the ballots may be either hand counted or counted on 14
511511 an electronic vote tabulating device. 15
512512 (f)(1)(e)(1) Absentee ballots marked as “special runoff ballots” 16
513513 received from a qualified voter from one (1) of the categories in § 7 -5-17
514514 406(a) shall be opened for general primary elections and general runoff 18
515515 elections according to the procedures described in subsection (b) of this 19
516516 section. 20
517517 (2) However, in counting the special runoff ballot, one (1) of 21
518518 the election officials shall open the envelope containing the special runoff 22
519519 ballot and read the numbers indicated next to the names of the two (2) 23
520520 candidates in the general primary election or in the general runoff election. 24
521521 (3) The candidate with the highest ranking shall receive the 25
522522 vote. 26
523523 (4) A special runoff ballot received with the preferential 27
524524 primary absentee ballot shall be counted in the general primary election, and 28
525525 a special runoff ballot received with the general election absentee ballot 29
526526 shall be counted in the general runoff election. 30
527527 (5) The Secretary of State shall prepare instructions for 31
528528 opening, counting, and canvassing special runoff ballots and provide the 32
529529 instructions to each county board of election commissioners. 33
530530 34
531531 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 7, Chapter 5, Subchapter 4, is amended 35
532532 to add an additional section to read as follows: 36 SB247
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535535 7-5-420. State Board of Election Commissioners – Rules. 1
536536 (a) The State Board of Election Commissioners shall adopt rules that: 2
537537 (1) Set procedures for the maintenance and storage of absentee 3
538538 ballot materials and absentee ballots; 4
539539 (2) Set uniform methods for labeling ballot storage containers 5
540540 that, at a minimum, document the: 6
541541 (A) Chain of custody concerning the opening and closing of 7
542542 the sealed boxes; and 8
543543 (B) Contents of the boxes in a readily identifiable 9
544544 manner; 10
545545 (3) Set standards for the processes, software, and methods used 11
546546 to list and describe the contents of the ballots, including without 12
547547 limitation the appropriate use of spreadsheets and summaries; 13
548548 (4) Prescribe forms for the lists that are required to be 14
549549 generated and maintained under § 7 -5-416; 15
550550 (5) Set the procedure for the handling of absentee ballots and 16
551551 voter materials such that the absentee ballots and voter materials are 17
552552 secured in such a manner that the boxes cannot be opened and the ballots 18
553553 cannot be handled, viewed, or tampered with except by an authorized election 19
554554 officials; and 20
555555 (6) Set the procedures for timely compliance with the Freedom of 21
556556 Information Act of 1967, § 25 -19-101 et seq., that ensure the secrecy and 22
557557 integrity of the voter materials. 23
558558 (b) The rules shall be promulgated under the Arkansas Administrative 24
559559 Procedure Act, § 25-15-201 et seq. 25
560560 26
561561 SECTION 4. DO NOT CODIFY. Rules. 27
562562 (a) When adopting the initial rules required under this act, the State 28
563563 Board of Election Commissioners shall file the final rules with the Secretary 29
564564 of State for adoption under § 25 -15-204(f): 30
565565 (1) On or before January 1, 2026; or 31
566566 (2) If approval under § 10 -3-309 has not occurred by January 1, 32
567567 2026, as soon as practicable after approval under § 10 -3-309. 33
568568 (b) The board shall file the proposed rules with the Legislative 34
569569 Council under § 10-3-309(c) sufficiently in advance of January 1, 2026, so 35
570570 that the Legislative Council may consider the rules for approval before 36 SB247
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