Let’s get us all registered to vote. If you want to vote in the Primary Election on Tuesday, May 24th (or early vote) you need to apply to register by Monday, April 25th. That is the 30-day deadline before that election.
Your first step is to check your voter registration status online by visiting www.voterview.org. If you find that you’re registered for your current address, then congratulations and we’re done here. If you find that you aren’t registered at all, or that you’re not registered for your current residence, then let’s go to the next step.
You’ll need to fill out a paper voter registration application to get the process started. When you get the application, you’ll find instructions on how to submit the completed form.
You can get the application from the following places:
- The Saline County Clerk’s office – 215 N Main St, # 9, Benton, AR 72015, (501) 303-5630.
- The Arkansas Secretary of State Elections Division: (800) 482-1127.
- Local revenue/DMV office – 215 N Main St, Benton, AR 72015 (501) 778-4876 or 101 NW 3rd St, Bryant, AR 72022 (501) 847-5080.
- Public library.
- Disability agency.
- Military recruitment office.
- Political party offices.
- Online Request Form:
- Print a Form:
Once the county clerk’s office processes your Voter Registration Application, they will send you a voter registration card. This could take several weeks.
Don’t assume you are registered to vote until you have received your voter registration card from the county clerk. Call the county clerk and ask about your application status. Of course, you can also return to www.voterview.org to check your voter registration status.
You may only register to vote where you “live or reside.” Owning property or a business in a county does not create residency there.
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.
If you are registering to vote by mail, you must provide:
- either your driver’s license number
- or the last four digits of your Social Security number on your Arkansas Voter Registration Application,
- or check the box in #9 on the application to indicate that you do not possess either a driver’s license or Social Security number.
According to Arkansas law, voters are now required to verify voter registration. If the voter is unable to verify it, they have the opportunity to vote a provisional ballot. Under this circumstance, the voter has until 12:00 noon on the first Monday following the election to provide proper identification.
Voters should present a document or identification card that shows the name and photo of the person to whom the document or identification card was issued and is issued by the United States, the State of Arkansas, or an accredited postsecondary educational institution in the State of Arkansas. If the card or document has an expiration date, it must not be expired or expired no more than four (4) years before the date of the election in which the voter seeks to vote.
The following documents and identification cards will be accepted as verification of voter registration without limitation:
- A driver’s license;
- A photo identification card;
- A concealed handgun carry license;
- A United States passport;
- An employee badge or identification document issued by an accredited postsecondary education institution in the State of Arkansas;
- A United States military identification document;
- A public assistance identification card if the card shows a photograph of the person to whom the document or identification card was issued;
- A voter verification card.
A person who is a resident of a long-term care or residential care facility licensed by the state of Arkansas is not required to verify their registration by presenting a document or identification card as described above when voting in person, but must provide documentation from the administrator of the facility attesting that the person is a resident of the facility.
Voters who are unable to verify registration when voting in person shall be permitted to cast a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots cast in this manner will be counted if:
(a) The voter completes a sworn statement at the polling site stating that the voter is registered to vote in this state and that he or she is the person registered to vote, and the county board of election commissioners does not determine that the provisional ballot is invalid and should not be counted based on other grounds, or
(b) The voter returns to the county board of election commissioners or the county clerk by 12:00 noon on the Monday following the election and presents a document or identification card meeting the requirements described above, and the county board of election commissioners does not determine that the provisional ballot is invalid and should not be counted based on other grounds.
You must submit your application to an official voter registration agency or mail it no later than 30 days prior to an election in which you wish to vote. The postmark on a mail-in application will be considered the submission date.
If you completed your application at a voter registration drive, the organizers must submit it to the county clerk or Secretary of State’s office within 21 days of the date on the application or no later than 30 days prior to the next election.
If you submit your application close to an election registration deadline, you are strongly advised to follow up on your registration status with your county clerk before Election Day.
If an election deadline is looming, there is one method of application that will ensure your eligibility – apply in person with your county clerk.
If you have not received verification from the county clerk, be sure to confirm your registration BEFORE Election Day.
If you have moved from one county to another within Arkansas, you must update this information with the county clerk no later than 4 days prior to Election Day via a Voter Registration Application.
You may register to vote in the county clerk’s office in the county in where you reside, or you may register using the mail registration form. Federal Law requires that a single Federal Post Card Application (FPCA SF-76) simultaneously serves all states and territories as both a registration form and application for absentee ballot.
Military personnel may contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) or their Voting Assistance Officer for further information or to obtain a Federal Post Card Application (FPCA). Call 1-800-438-8683 or e-mail the program at [email protected] or visit the website at www.fvap.gov.
For more information, see the Arkansas Secretary of State’s Military Voting information page.
Return to the main page for 2022 elections: www.mysaline.com/elections-2022
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