LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A proposal to cut early voting by one day is advancing in Arkansas’s legislature as lawmakers near the end of this year’s session.
If passed and signed by Governor Asa Hutchinson, the proposal would change the end of early voting from 5 p.m. on Monday to the Saturday at 4 p.m. before the election.
This would effectively shorten the amount of days to early vote by one day. Currently, Arkansans can vote starting 15 before election day.
The Senate on Thursday approved legislation that would eliminate early voting on the day before primaries and general elections. The measure now goes to the House.
Republican Sen. Kim Hammer, the bill’s sponsor, argued the change was needed to give election officials a pause between early voting and Election Day.
But opponents said it would remove an opportunity to vote for people who can’t make it to the polls at other times.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.