LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Until now, the Democratic and Republican parties held open primaries every two years in Arkansas, meaning any registered voter could choose which ballot they wanted.
The Arkansas GOP has now voted to close their primaries, meaning only registered Republican voters can participate.
But not every Republican supports the move, and there could still be some legal questions before you see any change at the polls.
Jennifer Lancaster chairs the 2nd Congressional District for the Republican Party of Arkansas, which includes Saline County. Over the weekend, she led the party's biennial state convention.
"The counties throughout the state elect state delegates to go to the state convention and to vote on... discuss and vote on things such as rules and platform changes," Lancaster said.
Some of those platform changes include new restrictions on who can vote in Republican primaries.
"We think it's in our party's best interest to go ahead and close those primaries so that only registered Republicans can select who our Republican nominee will be," Lancaster said.
Other states have closed primaries like this, but it would be pretty new to Arkansas.
Lancaster said the change follows concerns that Democrats will vote for more moderate Republicans. She explained that she's seen this happen in governor's races and more localized ones.
However, some Republicans, like state Sen. Bryan King, are skeptical of the change.
"As somebody that saw what was going on back in the mid-2000s when Democrats were complaining about Republicans crossing over," King said. "If you're going to have closed primaries... why should the taxpayers fund that? I think that you should look at a caucus system much like Iowa does for president."
Getting voters registered to a specific party could also be a big hurdle.
State records show that in 2022, out of 1.7 million voters in Arkansas, about 88% were not registered to a party, with just 7% registered Republican and 5% registered Democratic.
These stats come on top of low voter turnout, with just 20% of voters participating in this year's primary election.
"It's definitely going to cause a lot of questions and have to be asked and go through a system," King said.
That system includes the secretary of state's office approving how the change was made and if it follows current state laws.
In response to those legal questions, Lancaster said everything was done legally.
"The biennial convention spoke, and there are people who are very frustrated, and that's why you're hearing the controversy," Lancaster said. "Everything was done within the bounds of the law."
With the change, voters could still change their registration as late as election day.
Arkansans can check their voter registration on the secretary of state's website anytime.
These changes would not take place until May 2026, when the next statewide Republican primary will be held. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Sen. Tom Cotton will be up for re-election then.
Leaders of the Democratic party said they have no plans to close their primary.