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Committee approves ballot‑draw standardization bill after debate over local practice and training
Summary
Lawmakers approved a bill to standardize how county election commissions prepare filing lists and run ballot draws, after proponents said the change gives new commissioners clear statutory guidance and opponents warned it may be unnecessary.
Representative John Carr, R‑District 15, presented House Bill 1070 — the Ballot Draw Standardization Act of 2025 — to the House State Agencies & Governmental Affairs Committee as a statutory clarification of how counties determine ballot order for general elections. Carr told the committee the bill would require county clerks to certify the date and time of candidate filings to county election commissions and would set a default, transparent ordering method for drawing ballot positions.
Carr said the statute that currently governs ballot order — read during the hearing as Ark. Code §7‑5‑207(c)(1) — is “very vague” and that new or replacement election commissioners sometimes lack clear guidance. “This bill clearly defines how to conduct the ballot draw … but it still leaves ultimate control to the election commission,” Carr said.
Kim…
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