The short version
Arkansas nominates partisan candidates through party primaries. If you run with a party you file a political practices pledge and pay the party's filing fee; if you run as an independent there is no fee, but you qualify by petition.
- Offices you can run for
- Federal (U.S. House and Senate); statewide offices (Governor and other constitutional officers); the Arkansas Senate and House; and county, township, municipal, and school offices.
- How to get on the ballot
- Complete and sign your forms in duplicate, including a Political Practices Pledge and an affidavit of eligibility. Party candidates pay a filing fee set and collected by their party; independents file a petition with the required signatures and pay no fee. Federal, state, and district candidates file with the Secretary of State; county and local candidates file with the county clerk.
- Who runs candidate filing
- Arkansas Secretary of State — Elections Division
This is a plain-language overview, not legal advice. Filing deadlines and fees change every election cycle and vary by office — the official Arkansas resources below are the final word. When in doubt, the elections authority is right and we're wrong.
Official Arkansas candidate resources
Start here for the exact deadlines, fees, forms, and signature counts for your office and cycle.
Once you're on the ballot, Motion51 runs your field game.
Get your district's voter file loaded, cut into walkable turf, and onto an app your volunteers use at the door. Arkansas is fully available — see how to get your voter file.
Talk to us about your Arkansas race
Tell us what you're running for and we'll help you go from "qualified" to "knocking doors" — voter file loaded, turf cut, volunteers set up.