Bill > HB1078

This bill amends Arkansas election law to establish a runoff election process specifically for candidates for the State Senate and House of Representatives. Under the new provisions, if more than two candidates are running for a legislative seat and no candidate receives a majority of votes in the general election, a special runoff election will be held four weeks after the general election. The runoff will include only the two candidates who received the highest number of votes in the initial election. In the event that the two candidates in the runoff receive an equal number of votes, the State Board of Election Commissioners will determine the winner by drawing lots in a public meeting with both candidates present. The bill explicitly excludes certain statewide offices (such as Governor, Attorney General, and others) from this runoff process. Additionally, the bill makes a minor amendment to the process of publishing votes for constitutional officers by adding the Commissioner of State Lands to the list of offices whose votes are publicly announced during the first week of the legislative session after an election.

Government Affairs

https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=hb1078&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R