Primaries will be next March; filing ends Nov. 12

Under a new state law, all Arkansas party primary elections will be held in early March, while legislative fiscal sessions will start in April. The last day of the upcoming filing period will be on Nov. 12 this year. The election calendar changes are a result of Act 405, recently signed by Gov. Sarah Sanders.

The law, sponsored by Sen. Bart Hester, R-Cave Springs, and Rep. Jeremy Woodridge, R-Marmaduke, moves Arkansas’ primary elections during nonpresidential election years permanently to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March. Next year, that will be March 3.

The move standardizes the primary elections, which have been held in March during presidential election years and during the second Tuesday in May in nonpresidential years.

“We know that consistency matters,” Hester said in the Senate chamber March 17. “We have said that it matters to us to have our presidential elections at this time so that Arkansas has more of a voice, more presidential candidates, and I suspect in four years there’ll be a lot of candidates from both sides. We hope they come here and campaign in the state of Arkansas, and that we’re very relevant during that process. And if we value that, and we want consistency, then March is where we land at.”

The bill passed 32-0 in the Senate with two voting present on March 17, and 89-0 in the House with eight not voting and three voting present.

One of the few voting present, Sen. Mark Johnson, R-Ferndale, said on March 17, “Well, this thing keeps moving backwards and backwards.” He said he could remember when the primaries were held in July. He said he would rather nonpresidential primary elections be held later while keeping the presidential elections at an earlier date. He said the legislation meant that judicial candidates must stop their law practices for a year to campaign.

In the 2024 primaries held in March, 360,746 voters cast ballots, which was a turnout rate of 20.64%. The 2022 primary elections held in May attracted 457,856 votes, which was a turnout rate of 25.98%.

Act 405 also moves the start of the even-numbered-year fiscal session to the second Wednesday in April after the elections. The fiscal sessions previously have started the second Monday in January.

The law states that the party filing period will begin at noon on the first Monday in November and end at noon on the eighth day afterward.

The filing periods for the November 2026 elections would be Nov. 3-11 of this year under that scenario, but Nov. 11 is Veterans Day. Arkansas Code Section 7-1-108 states, “If an election law deadline occurs on a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, the deadline shall be the next day which is not a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday.”

Samantha Boyd, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Cole Jester, said her office believes filing will end on Nov. 12.