Election 2024 Information for Fort Smith, AR

Voter Registration

Deadline: You must register to vote no later than 30 days before the election you wish to vote in. 

Party affiliation: In a primary election, you must state the primary party with which you want to vote. If you don’t wish to cast a party ballot, you can vote with a nonpartisan one. You will only be allowed to vote with one party or the nonpartisan ballot. 

Voter Registration Qualifications

Citizenship: Must be a US citizenship and a resident of the state of Arkansas

Felony convictions: To register to vote, you must not be a convicted felon whose sentence has not been discharged or pardoned.

Mental competency: To register to vote, you cannot be presently adjudged as mentally incompetent to vote by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Obtaining a Voter Registration Form

Online: You cannot register to vote online in Arkansas.

By Mail: You can request an application here, or print out this form. These can be mailed to your county clerk in order to register. You can also call the Arkansas Secretary of State Elections Division (1-800-482-1127) to request a form be mailed to you. 

In person: You can go to a local revenue or DMV office, public library, disability agency, or military recruitment office to obtain an application to give to the county clerk.

You can verify your registration status here or call your county clerk.

Deadlines for ballot pickup: By Designated Bearers: no earlier than 15 days before a preferential primary election, general election, school election or special election and no earlier than 7 days before a runoff election. By Anyone Else: no deadline specified in Arkansas law. You should base your ballot pick up on the ability to return it to the County Clerk on time.

ABSENTEE BALLOT QUALIFICATIONS 

In order to vote absentee in an Arkansas election, you must meet one of the following criteria: 

• You will be unavoidably absent from your polling site on election day, OR

• You will be unable to attend your polling site on election day due to illness or physical disability, OR

• You are a member of the Uniformed Services, merchant marines or the spouse or a dependant family member and are away from your polling location due to the member’s active duty status, OR

• A U.S. citizen whose residence is in Arkansas but is temporarily living outside the territorial limits of the United States.

OBTAINING AN ABSENTEE BALLOT 

In person: You can contact your county clerk and request that they send an absentee ballot application to you, or you can print out this application and give it to them.

Online: Fill out this application.

Military and overseas voting information can be found here.

Submitting an Absentee Ballot

In person: Deliver to the county clerk’s office yourself or by a designated bearer/administrator by the close of business the Friday before the election. 

By mail: Must be submitted to the county clerk’s office by 7:30PM on election day.

VOTER ID LAWS

Arkansas requires you to present a photo ID while you are voting. Here is a list of accepted forms of ID. If you don’t have an acceptable form of ID, you may cast a provisional ballot. More information here. 

VOTING ON ELECTION DAY

Vote at your poll on Election Day from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. An election official will ask you to state your name, address and date of birth. The election official will request for you to provide an approved form of I.D.

You will go alone to a voting booth and mark your ballot. You are allowed 5 minutes to vote.

Additional Information

Deciding how to vote: https://www.votesmart.org/

Polling Place: Arkansas Polling Place Locator

Problems with voting: Contact your county clerk with voting issues and problems. 

Verifying absentee ballot status: Arkansas Absentee Ballot Verification