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Committee approves bill to fix primary dates and adjust school-election timing
Summary
A Senate committee approved Senate Bill 445 to set consistent primary-election dates (distinguishing presidential vs. governor years), adjust school-board election timing in certain years, and change filing and fiscal-session timing; the measure passed the committee despite at least one dissenting voice.
The Senate State Agencies & Governmental Affairs committee approved Senate Bill 445 after an extended presentation and questions about how the measure will affect school-board elections, judicial primaries and county clerks' workloads.
Senator Trent Garner (District 27) introduced the bill, saying it would stabilize when Arkansas holds preferential and general primary elections and help avoid year-to-year changes that confuse voters and strain local election officials. "The governor's on board with this. He supports this bill," Garner told the committee.
The bill would, among other changes, set preferred primary dates differently for presidential years and governor years, alter filing days for candidates, and change when the legislature meets for fiscal sessions in years when the primary is in March. Garner said the adjustments aim to reduce incentives to move primaries for political advantage and to give election officials clearer calendars.
Lindsey Bailey of the Association of Arkansas Counties testified that county clerks are not enthusiastic about a permanent move to March because of resource constraints in early months of the year, but they are more concerned about moving the primary back-and-forth between March and May, which causes voter confusion and complicates school-board terms. "The inconsistency and the change and the voter confusion" are primary clerk concerns, she said.
Committee members asked whether the earlier date would align with other primaries, such as judicial and SCC primaries, and sought assurances from liaison offices and BLR staff that statutory deadlines (for example, adequacy reports) would not produce unintended consequences. The sponsor said he would work with judicial and election stakeholders and consider an emergency clause if necessary.
The committee moved the bill and carried it on a voice vote; a single 'No' vote was audible during the tally. The committee chair announced that the 'Ayes have it.' The bill will now proceed according to the legislature's scheduling rules.
