Arkansas remains reliably red

STATE STATS

Voter makeup: Arkansas had 1.7 million registered voters in 2022—123,000 Republicans, 88,000 Democrats, and 1.2 million whose affiliation was marked “optional.” The state has a smattering of Libertarian, Green Party, or nonpartisan registrants, which together add up to less than 1 percent of the registered voter pool. Pulaski County, which includes Little Rock, has the highest number of registered voters at 238,000.

Voting: The Arkansas legislature has rejected several efforts to allow no-excuse mail-in voting in the state. Voters looking to cast an absentee mail-in ballot must first register by providing either their driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. Then they must qualify by proving illness, disability, military service, or unavoidable travel. In-person voting also requires photo identification and can include concealed carry permits or a U.S. passport. Registration for in-person voting closes 30 days before the election.

PRESIDENTIAL

A total of 347,000 voters participated in the 2024 presidential primaries on March 5—a roughly 26 percent drop from 2020. President Joe Biden won the Democratic primary with 71,800 votes, accounting for 88 percent of his party’s support in the state. Donald Trump clinched the state’s Republican nomination with 204,600 votes, or 76 percent of Republican voters. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who has since dropped out of the race, took home 18 percent of the vote. In the 2020 general election, Donald Trump carried the state with a 62 percent to 34 percent lead over Joe Biden, securing the state’s six electoral votes.

U.S. HOUSE

Arkansas has four congressional seats, currently all held by Republicans. The state has had an all-Republican delegation in Congress since 2015 and is largely expected to stay that way in 2024. All of the incumbents won at least 60 percent support in the 2022 midterms, and two of them won their races with over 70 percent of the vote.

JUDICIAL ELECTIONS

This year, three of the state’s seven Supreme Court members are up for election. Justice Shaun Womack ran uncontested. The remaining two races are both nonpartisan runoffs. Courtney Hudson is running against Carlton Jones, and Justice Karen Baker will face off against Justice Rhonda Wood to become the court’s next chief justice. Baker is described by the Ballotpedia Courts States Partnership 2020 Report as a moderate, while Wood has been called a “mild Republican.” The court currently has a four-seat conservative majority.

BALLOT MEASURES

The state legislature of Arkansas has referred one constitutional amendment to the 2024 ballot. If passed, it would allow state lottery revenue to fund educational scholarships and grants. As a legislatively referred constitutional amendment, the measure requires a simple majority to succeed. Eight other possible measures may appear on the ballot by November, but none has been referred by the state legislature.

Dig deeper:

Read Lauren Canterberry’s report on Arkansas’ removal of “X” gender options on driver's licenses.

Read Josh Schumacher’s report on former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.