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Laws governing recall in Arkansas

From Ballotpedia

Recall elections

Laws governing recall
Recall efforts by state
Recall efforts by year
Recall efforts by type

Select a state from the menu below to learn more about its laws governing recall elections.

Arecall election is the process by which citizens may remove elected officials from office before the expiration of their terms.This article summarizes the laws governing recall elections in Arkansas. Arkansas allows for the recall of some local officials but does not allow for the recall of state officials.

In 39 states, local officials can be subject to recall elections. Of those, 19 also permit recalls of state-level officials. Eleven states do not permit recalls of elected officials at any level. Clickhere for more information.

Offices subject to recall

Federal officials

TheU.S. Constitution does not provide for the recall of elected federal officials. While some state constitutions have stated that their citizens have the right to recall members ofCongress, theSupreme Court has never ruled on whether such recalls are constitutional.^[1] Ballotpedia does not provide coverage of federal recalls. Clickhere for more information.

State officials

Arkansas law does not provide for the recall of state officials.^[2]

Local officials

The laws that govern the conduct of political recalls inArkansas areArk. Code §14-47-112, 14-48-114, 14-61-119, 14-92-209, and6-13-6. Under these statutes, the following local elected officials are subject to recall:

Mayors
Members of board of directors
Commissioners of suburban improvement districts
School board members

Process

Features of the recall statutes in Arkansas are:

The officeholder must have been in office at least six months before a recall can be started
The signature requirement for mayors and directors is 35% of ballots cast for all candidates for the office at the preceding primary at which the officials were nominated or elected. For commissioners of suburban improvement districts, the requirement is 25% of the owners of real estate in the district. For school board members, the requirement is "at least thirty-five percent (35%) of the electors who are eligible to vote for the office."^[3]
Organizers of a recall for a mayor or city director must file a petition with the relevant city clerk within 90 days of starting to collect signatures.^[4]
If a recall election is held and the majority of the votes cast are in favor of the recall, the official facing recall is removed from office.^[5]

Legislation involving recall elections

The table below lists bills related to recall elections in Arkansas. The following information is included for each bill:

State
Bill number
Official bill name or caption
Most recent action date
Legislative status
Sponsor party
Topics dealt with by the bill

Bills are organized by most recent action. The table displays up to 100 results. To view more bills, use the arrows in the upper-right corner. Clicking on a bill will open its page onBallotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker, which includes bill details and a summary.