Two voting machines and a vote tabulator await voters at the Emmet voting center. If you want to see one of these on Election Day, or on early voting days, you must register to vote by 5:00 p.m. today at your county clerk's office in your county courthouse.
Today is the last day to register to vote in the November 8 election in the state of Arkansas.
At this late date, the best bet to make sure your registration is entered into the system is to visit your county courthouse and register in the county clerk’s office by 5:00 p.m.
Arkansas has distinguished itself in the wrong way when it comes to turnout in previous elections. As Terrie James, Staff Chair at University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture, Research and Extension, Hempstead County, put it, “Arkansas has one of the lowest voter turnout rates in the country. One organization even said we were at the bottom of the list when it came to the number of eligible adults voting.
“We want people to have the information they need about these issues to make an informed decision, and to ultimately participate in the policy making in Arkansas.”
James provided the following numbers about where things stand in the state regarding turnout:
1,765,681 registered voters as of June 2022
2020 Census showed 2,288,758 people 18 and older living in Arkansas
In a state of 3 million people, 66.92 percent turned out in 2020. [That means] 1,223,777 people voted, which is only 53 percent of voter turnout of adults living in state
How to register
You must register in the county where your primary residence is. Having property or businesses in other counties does not change this.
To register, according to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office, you must fill out a Voter Registration card. These can be obtained at the following locations:
At the office of your county clerk in your county courthouse. In Hempstead County the County Clerk is Karen Smith. In Nevada County, Julie Oliver.
The Arkansas Secretary of State Elections Division: 1-800-482-1127.
Local revenue or DMV office.
Public library.
Disability agency.
Military recruitment office.
Print a Form:
According, again, to the Arkansas Secretary of State’s website, “to register to vote in the State of Arkansas, you must:
Be a U.S. citizen.
Be an Arkansas resident.
Be age 18 or turn 18 on or before the next election.
Not be a convicted felon whose sentence has not been discharged or pardoned.
Not be presently adjudged as mentally incompetent as to your ability to vote by a court of competent jurisdiction.
What documents to bring to register to vote
Again, from the Secretary of State’s website:
Each voter shall verify his or her registration when voting by presenting a document or identification card that:
(a) Shows the name of the person to whom the document or identification card was issued;
(b) Shows a photograph of the person to whom the document or identification card was issued;
(c) Is issued by the United States, the State of Arkansas, or an accredited postsecondary educational institution in the State of Arkansas; and
(d) If displaying an expiration date, is not expired or expired no more than four (4) years before the date of the election in which the voter seeks to vote.
Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 51, § 13(b)(1)(A)
After the registration form and the documents are submitted to your county clerk, you should receive a card signifying your voter status. But the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office recommends that if you registered late, registered with a voter registration group or sent your registration form in the mail, that you call your county clerk to verify your status as a registered voter.
For help in learning about the ballot issues for November 8's General Election, see the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Research & Extension's Public Policy Center nonpartisan 2022 Voter Guide.