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Arkansas Code Title 14. Local Government § 14-43-307. Election of council members at large or by ward

Current as of March 28, 2024 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(a)(1) Candidates for the office of council member in cities of the first class shall reside in the ward from which they seek to be elected and shall run at large.

(2)(A) All of the qualified electors of these cities shall be entitled to vote in the election.

(B)(i)(a) Except as provided under subsection (b) of this section, provisions shall be made by the election commissioners in these cities so that the qualified electors of each ward shall have at least one (1) voting site in each ward where the resident electors thereof may cast their ballots.

(b) The county board of election commissioners may reduce the number of voting sites in a city of the first class by unanimous vote if:

(1) In the most recent federal decennial census the city has a population of five thousand (5,000) or less; and

(2) The county in which the city is situated has established vote centers under § 7-5-101.

(ii) Cities of the second class that elect their council members citywide may have one (1) public place only for holding elections.

(b)(1)(A) The city council of any such city or the governing body of any city in transition to the mayor-council form of government may provide by ordinance that all council members be elected by ward, in which event each council member shall be voted upon by the qualified electors of the ward from which he or she is a candidate.

(B)(i) When so provided by city ordinance, the name of the candidate shall appear upon the ballot only in the ward in which he or she is a candidate.

(ii) The city council of these cities may provide for the election of one (1) council member from each ward citywide and the other council members from each ward by the voters of the ward only.

(2) All such cities choosing to elect all council members by wards or in part by wards shall provide, in the manner provided by law, for the establishment of wards of substantially equal population in order that each council member elected from each ward shall represent substantially the same number of people in the city.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Arkansas Code Title 14. Local Government § 14-43-307. Election of council members at large or by ward - last updated March 28, 2024 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ar/title-14-local-government/ar-code-sect-14-43-307/

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