Arkansas voter guide for 2024 elections | What to know

Those who have registered to vote in Arkansas can begin casting their ballots early on Monday, Oct. 21 and will be able to do so until Monday, Nov. 4.

You can choose to either vote in person whether early or on Election Day or you can choose to cast an absentee ballot. For absentee voting rules, click here.

On election day, polls will open at 7:30 a.m. and close at 7:30 p.m. If you are still in line waiting to vote when the polls close, you are legally allowed to cast your ballot.

State law requires voters to show a photo ID when you vote in person.

To check your voter registration and where to find your polling location, click here.

U.S. House races

First Congressional District

Congressman Rick Crawford, the Republican incumbent, is hoping to secure a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives that he first won in the 2010 elections. He is facing off against Democratic challenger Rodney Govens and Libertarian Steven Parsons.

Crawford, an ardent supporter of former President Donald Trump, was the only Arkansas representative on Jan. 7, 2021 to object to President Joe Biden's Electoral College victory. He currently serves as chairmain for the Highways and Transit subcommittee.

Govens in the past has labeled Crawford as a "fraud" and that "the historic Arkansas Delta deserves better than his woeful, selfish, and shameful congressional record." Govens, who was in foster care as a teen, now serves as a court-appointed special advocate for abused and neglected children. He and his family have lived in Cabot since 2017.

Both Govens and Crawford are U.S. Army veterans. Crawford served for four years as an explosive ordinance disposal technician while Govens served for three and half years as a communications specialist.

Parsons, who has a Ph.D. in economics, has said he wants to bring a vision of "less government" and "more freedom to the table."

Second Congressional District

Republican incumbent French Hill is hoping to secure his Second Congressional District seat, which he first won in the 2014 elections. Since then, Hill has served under three different presidents and served as a member on an oversight commission related to COVID-19 relief funds.

Hill, along with the three other sitting Arkansas congressmen, all voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law which provides federal funding for improving roads, broadband access, and other infrastructure programs.

The congressman has also labeled himself as the "conservative champion" and his website lists him as pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, and pro-balanced budget.

Marcus Jones, who served 29 years in the U.S. Army, is hoping to be the Democratic challenger that can defeat Hill in the Second District which has leaned Republican over the last decade but contains a large portion of Arkansas's urban cities.

Much of his campaign has been focused on his military service and using that experience to better to serves Arkansans that live in the district. His campaign website claims that French Hill isn't a "bad guy," but that "he's just the wrong guy."

To read more about the two candidates, click here.

Third Congressional District

Since being first elected in 2010, Republican Steve Womack has garnered at least 63% of the votes in the Third Congressional District. That district serves six counties that make up Northwest Arkansas, which has seen enormous growth over the last decade.

Womack, who served for three decades with the Arkansas Army National Guard, has promised in the past to further the conservative values that he said "made our nation the greatest in the world." He currently serves as a senior member on the House Appropriations Committee.

Caitlin Draper has said one of the factors that led to her to run against Womack was the U.S. Supreme Court ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade. Draper works as licensed clinical social work and has undergone IVF treatment and "has seen how restrictions on reproductive healthcare have made it harder for her to become a mother."

She has said her campaign focuses on lowering the cost of living and healthcare as well as addressing climate change.

Bobby Wilson, the Libertarian candidate, has said that voting third party is "an act of bravery" and wants to work on limiting the reach of the federal government's authority. His website has a focus on being "technologically progressive" including using A.I. to help Veteran Affairs as well as support for nuclear power.

Fourth Congressional District

The Fourth Congressional District, which represents most of south Arkansas and parts of Northwest Arkansas, has the choice between re-electing Republican Congressman Bruce Westerman or choosing a new legislator in Democratic challenger Risie Howard or independent John White.

Westerman has served in the U.S. House since 2014 and has been an opponent of abortion access and same-sex marriages. He serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the Natural Resources Committee.

Risie Howard, who is the Democratic challenger, is a lawyer who lives in Pine Bluff and wants to sure that all Arkansans have access to "good schools, well-paying jobs, and affordable housing."

John White, who ran as a Democrat in 2022, is running as an independent candidate. In that race against Westerman, White got around 26% of the vote. White has notably said that Donald Trump won the election he lost in 2020 and has expressed support for Trump since then.

State Treasurer

Secretary of State John Thurston is looking to secure his third position in Arkansas's state government if he is elected as the state treasurer. The Republican was first elected in 2010 as the Land Commissioner and served two terms, then was elected in 2018 as the Secretary of State.

Thurston has made headlines recently for his rejections of the abortion access and medical marijuana expansion ballot measures over technical issues regarding paid canvassers. He also said that votes on the casino amendment should not be counted, according to recent court filings.

Law professor John Pagan, who once served in the Arkansas Senate, is running as the Democratic challenger. During his time as a state senator, Pagan sponsored a bill that would create the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship Program.

Pagan said he is running for the treasurer position because he wants "help other Arkansans invest in their own futures." Among his promises, Pagan would advocate for using "some of the state treasury's investment earnings" to increase scholarships for college and vocational-technical students.

The Libertarian challenge Michael Pakko is a well-known economist in Arkansas who has been the Chief Economist at UALR's Arkansas Economic Development Institute.

Pakko has said he is running to make the job of treasurer more transparent for Arkansans and help explain where "their tax dollars are going."

Arkansas Supreme Court chief justice

The race for chief justice has made a lot of headlines with recent Arkansas Supreme Court decisions, which have given a clear contrast for voters between Associate Justice Karen Baker and Associate Justice Rhonda Wood.

The two are facing off for the position after the race ended in a runoff during the March elections. In that race, Baker finished with 27% of the vote while Wood had 26% of the vote with 2,711 votes separating the two.

When it came to allowing the abortion access proposal onto the ballot, Wood handed down the 4-3 opinion while Baker wrote a dissent.

The two were also on opposite sides when it came to an issue regarding a Freedom of Information Act request regarding the emails of Associate Justice Courtney Hudson.

To read more on Arkansas Supreme Court race, click here.

Information on these ballot issues was gathered using the Public Policy Center's ballot issues voter guide. You can read that by clicking here. We will update the article if there are any changes to Issues 2 and 3 due to ongoing court cases.

Issue 1 - Lottery funding for vocational-technical schools scholarships

This constitutional amendment would allow lottery proceeds to fund scholarships and grants to citizens of the state that are enrolled in vocational-technical schools and institutes.

This amendment was approved for the ballot by the Arkansas legislature, who are allowed to include up to three constitutional amendments on the ballot.

Lottery scholarships are currently used at two and four-year colleges and universities that are either private and public non-profit schools.

Voting FOR this means you would allow the lottery funds to be used for these types of scholarships.

Voting AGAINST means you would like to keep the lottery scholarship funding as it is.

Around 86% of those who were asked about the issue supported the measure, according to a Talk Business/Hendrix poll.

Issue 2 - Repeal casino license, countywide approval

You may have seen plenty of advertising—whether online, on television, or in your mailbox—that is both in opposition and in support of this amendment.

If passed, it would repeal the authority to issue a casino license in Pope County while also ensuring any new casino licenses require a local countywide special election.

In 2018, Arkansas voters approved an amendment which authorized four casino locations with one set for Pope County. This proposal would remove Pope County from Amendment 100 and would require a county's quorum court to call for a special election vote, which would then go to the Arkansas Racing Commission for licensing.

Voting FOR this means you want to remove the Pope County casino gaming license from the state constitution and any future licenses will have to be approved by a statewide vote and a special countywide election.

Voting AGAINST means you want to keep the Pope County casino gaming license and to not change the amendment in the state constitution.

The Talk Business/Hendrix poll showed that while 42% were for the measure, 30% were still undecided and 28% against.

Issue 3 - Medical marijuana expansion

Although voters will see this issue on the ballot, any votes cast for and against will not count as the Arkansas Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 opinion that the popular name and ballot title were "misleading." Click here to read more on the ruling.

But this amendment would have expanded the medical marijuana program by adding more qualifying conditions, expand who can certify a patient card, and allow cardholders to grow some marijuana at home.

The amendment would also change an Arkansas law regarding initiatives and referendums. 

That law currently allows constitutional amendments to be changed or repealed by the legislature if approved by two-thirds of all members of the House and Senate. But this proposal adds a section that bars legislators from doing that "without approval from voters unless the amendment expressly allows them to do so."

In 2016, a proposal to allow medical marijuana in the state was approved by voters with 53% of the votes and then in 2022 voters rejected a proposal that would have legalized marijuana for use by adults.

You can find live election results by clicking here. You can also follow us on social media for the latest updates in key races.