By the Arkansas Black Vitality Staff

LITTLE ROCK — Feb. 10, 2026 – With the final day of voter registration behind us and the March 3 preferential primary less than a month away, Arkansas voters are preparing to navigate a changing electoral landscape.

As early voting begins on Feb. 17, community leaders emphasize the importance of understanding several new laws passed by the Republican-controlled legislature in 2025 that impose stricter requirements for both in-person and absentee voting.

As voters prepare to vote in the first major primary election since the 2024 presidential election, several new laws from the Arkansas General Assembly’s 2025 legislative session are set to alter the electoral landscape as local officials prepare for voter turnout.

To view Arkansas Black Vitality’s primer and list of Black and women candidates vying for federal, state, and judicial offices across the state, click here and here. Also, the Arkansas VoterView online tool from the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office allows individuals to search for their voter registration information.

The Road to the Polls: Key Dates and Early Voting

For those looking to avoid Election Day crowds, early voting runs from Feb. 17 through March 2. Voters should be aware that, under Act 978 of 2025, county boards are now required to conduct off-site early voting in any city with a population over 15,000, potentially expanding access in larger population centers.

However, other new rules may limit flexibility. Act 282 gives county clerks the sole authority to designate the primary early voting site in the county seat, while all other locations must be re-approved by the County Board of Election Commissioners for every election. Additionally, Act 766 now allows election boards to close any early voting location—except the one in the county seat—during inclement weather.

New Legislated Hurdles: What You Need to Know

The 2025 legislative session introduced several other new election laws that voters will encounter for the first time this spring:

• Voter Assistance Restrictions: If you require help at the polls, Act 593 now mandates that your assistant must be at least 18 years old, provide photo identification, and sign formal paperwork.
• Stricter Absentee Requirements: For those voting absentee due to being “unavoidably absent,” Act 846 now requires a witness (age 18 or older) to watch the voter sign their statement. The witness must also provide their printed name and mailing address on the form.
• Nursing Home Protections: Act 403 requires that if a facility administrator helps a resident vote, another staff member must witness the assistance.
• Party Primary Restrictions: In addition to the new legislature-approved laws, the Arkansas Republican Party has introduced an intraparty rule requiring voters to be registered as Republicans to participate in GOP primary elections.

Unlike in the past, this means registered Democrats can access only Democratic or nonpartisan ballots unless they change their affiliation. A significant party rule change now prohibits voters registered as Democrats from casting a ballot in the Republican primary.

ID Requirements: “Not Expired by More Than Four Years”

More concerning to some voter activists, Arkansas remains a strict photo ID state. In-person voters must present an ID that is current or expired within the past 4 years. Acceptable forms include:

• Arkansas Driver’s License or State ID (digital versions are accepted).
• U.S. Passport or Military ID.
• Student or employee IDs from Arkansas post-secondary institutions.
• A voter ID card with a photo issued by your County Clerk.

If you forget your ID, you have until noon on the Monday following the election to present it to the county clerk for your vote to count.

The Historical Context: Black Voter Participation

The push for clarity on these laws comes amidst a troubling national and local trend in voter participation, particularly among Black voters. While Arkansas saw a 64.94% overall turnout in the 2024 General Election, a significant racial gap remains. That represents 1,187,243 ballots cast in Arkansas during the national election.

Of the 191,719 registered Black citizens, 115,996 voted in the 2024 election, representing a 60.5% overall turnout in Arkansas.

Nationally, the Black-white turnout gap widened in 2024 to approximately 16 percentage points—a level of disparity not seen since the 1990s. In Arkansas, youth engagement also highlights a stark divide: 2024 data shows that while 58% of young white women turned out to vote, only 25% of young Black men participated.

Historically, Arkansas has a complex legacy of Black voter suppression, from the “all-white” primaries and poll taxes of the Jim Crow era to the 1891 Election Law that effectively used literacy as a barrier. While the Voting Rights Act of 1965 initially closed many of these gaps, recent legislative shifts and the 2013 Supreme Court decision to remove “preclearance” requirements have led to a proliferation of new restrictive laws that advocates argue disproportionately impact Black and low-income communities.

Looking Ahead

Winners of the March 3 primary will move on to the November 2026 General Election. For nonpartisan judicial races, if no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff will also be held in November.