Arkansas 2025 Regular Session Status: Enacted

HB 1706 — TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTIONS; AND TO PROHIBIT RANKED CHOICE VOTING.

Last action — Notification that HB1706 is now Act 829

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. ✓
    In Committee
  3. ✓
    Passed House
  4. ✓
    Passed Senate
  5. ✓
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 06, 2025. Enacted.

Signed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (Republican) on April 17, 2025.

Prognosis

Advancing 52% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

High

How often bills like it became law.

  • Enacted

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 2 sponsors

    2 primary, 0 co-sponsors signed on.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Bill Text

What changed in the latest version

0 added · 2 removed

Plain-language change summary

The amendment removes the reference to "Act 829 of the Regular Session" and the approval date of April 17, 2025. This change likely indicates that the bill will no longer be linked to those specific legislative details. It matters because it simplifies the bill and could make it easier to understand or implement by removing unnecessary references.

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Act 829 of the Regular Session State of Arkansas 95th General Assembly A Bill Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1706 5 By:
State of Arkansas 95th General Assembly A Bill Regular Session, 2025 HOUSE BILL 1706 5 By:
6 APPROVED:
6 8 2 03/04/2025 11:27:02 AM SSS165
4/17/25 9 2 03/04/2025 11:27:02 AM SSS165
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How this bill changes current law

5 changes Share ↗

AI-generated reading aid from the bill's amendatory text — verify against the official bill.

The bill establishes a prohibition on ranked choice voting for elections in Arkansas.

  • 7-1-116

    Ranked choice voting prohibited.

    This creates a new section that explicitly prohibits ranked choice voting in Arkansas.

  • 7-1-116

    (a) As used in this section, "ranked choice voting" means a voting method that: (1) Allows a voter to rank candidates for an office in order of preference; and (2) Has the ballots cast tabulated in multiple rounds following the elimination of a candidate until a single candidate attains a majority vote.

    This defines ranked choice voting and its method.

  • 7-1-116

    (b) Ranked choice voting shall not be used to determine the election or nomination of a candidate to any local, state, or federal elective office in this state.

    This explicitly bans the use of ranked choice voting for all elections in the state.

  • 7-1-116

    (c) An existing or future ordinance enacted or adopted by a county, a municipality, or other local governmental entity that is in conflict with this section is void.

    This ensures that local laws allowing ranked choice voting are invalidated.

  • 7-1-116

    (d) This section shall not apply to a qualified elector who is entitled to vote by absentee ballot under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. § 20301 et seq., as it existed on January 1, 2025, or who votes as a member of the uniformed services of the United States or a citizen residing outside the United States under § 7-5-406.

    This provides an exemption for certain voters from the ranked choice voting prohibition.

Action History

  1. Notification that HB1706 is now Act 829

  2. Correctly enrolled and ordered transmitted to the Governor's Office.

  3. TO BE ENROLLED

  4. Returned from the Senate as passed.

  5. Returned to the House as passed.

  6. Read the third time and passed.

  7. Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass

  8. Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE

  9. Received from the House.

  10. Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate.

  11. Returned by the Committee Do Pass

  12. Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS- HOUSE

  13. Filed

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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2 sponsors · 0 co-sponsors · 136 not signed on

Sponsors (2)

Co-sponsors (0)

None.

Not signed on (136)

136 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 136 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

elections
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

Who sponsors HB 1706?
HB 1706 is sponsored by Bart Hester and Austin McCollum.
What is the current status of HB 1706?
This bill has been enacted into law. Introduced March 06, 2025. Enacted.
Where can I track HB 1706?
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