Arkansas’ new state legislative districts were enacted on Dec. 29, 2021, following a constitutionally mandated month-long waiting period after the Arkansas Board of Reapportionment voted to approve the maps 3-0 on Nov. 29. The maps will take effect for Arkansas’ 2022 state legislative elections. The three-member Board of Reapportionment is made up of Gov. Asa…
The special primary for Arkansas State Senate District 7 is on Dec. 14. Lisa Parks and Derek Van Voast are competing in the Democratic primary, and Jim Bob Duggar, Colby Fulfer, Edge Nowlin, and Steven Unger are competing in the Republican primary to advance to the special general election scheduled for Feb. 8. The candidate…
Candidates interested in running in the special election for Arkansas State Senate District 7 had until Nov. 22 to file. The primaries are scheduled for Dec. 14, and the general election is set for Feb. 8. Lisa Parks and Derek Van Voast will compete in the Democratic primary. The Republican primary includes Jim Bob Duggar,…
The filing deadline for the Arkansas State Senate District 7 special election is on Nov. 22. The primary is scheduled for Dec. 14, and the general election is scheduled for Feb. 8. The seat became vacant on Oct. 28 after Lance Eads (R) resigned to accept a position with Capitol Consulting Firm. Eads held the office…
A new state legislative special election has been added to our list. The special election is for the District 7 seat in the Arkansas State Senate on Feb. 8, 2022. The primary is on Dec. 14, and the filing deadline is on Nov. 22.
Here’s a summary of recent redistricting updates from Virginia and Arkansas. In Virginia, the Redistricting Commission did not meet the Oct. 10 deadline to submit state legislative maps to the General Assembly. Under state law, the commission is given a 14 day extension to submit maps after “its initial failure to submit a plan to…
On April 29, Arkansas Senate Bill 614 became law (Act 951). The bill added several restrictions to the state’s ballot initiative and veto referendum process, including to: • ban paying signature gatherers based on the number of signatures gathered, a payment method called pay-per-signature; • require circulators to be state residents and citizens; • add…
On April 27, the Arkansas State Legislature passed a third constitutional amendment titled the “Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment,” which will appear on the state’s November 2022 ballot. The measure would amend the state constitution to provide that “government shall not burden a person’s freedom of religion even if the burden results from a rule of…
The Arkansas State Legislature gave final approval to two constitutional amendments on April 22, 2021, sending them to the November 2022 ballot. One of the amendments would require 60% supermajority voter approval to ratify constitutional amendments (legislatively referred and citizen-initiated) and citizen-initiated state statutes. Constitutional amendments require approval by voters in a statewide election to…
On April 6, the Arkansas General Assembly overrode Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s (R) veto of House Bill 1570 (H.B. 1570), a bill prohibiting physicians and healthcare professionals from providing chemical or surgical gender-affirming treatments—including hormone therapy and puberty blockers—to individuals under the age of 18. The bill also prohibits providers from referring minors elsewhere in order to receive such treatments. Gender-affirming…