Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 14 - LOCAL GOVERNMENT (§§ 14-1-101 — 14-387-706) › Subtitle 3 - MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT (§§ 14-37-101 — 14-62-115) › Chapter 40 - ANNEXATION, CONSOLIDATION, AND DETACHMENT BY MUNICIPALITIES (§§ 14-40-101 — 14-40-2202) › Subchapter 3 - MUNICIPAL ANNEXATION OF CONTIGUOUS LANDS (§§ 14-40-301 — 14-40-304) › Section 14-40-303 - Annexation ordinance - Election - Procedures

(a)
The annexation ordinance shall:
(1)
Contain an accurate description of the lands desired to be annexed;
(2)
Include a schedule of the services of the annexing municipality that will be extended to the area within three (3) years after the date the annexation becomes final;
(3)
Fix the date for the annexation election under this section at the next special election date under §
7-11-205
after the ordinance is filed; and
(4)
Be heard at three (3) consecutive regular meetings of the governing body of the annexing municipality.
(b)
(1)
The annexation ordinance shall not become effective until the question of annexation is submitted to the qualified electors of the annexing municipality and of the area to be annexed at the next general election or at a special election. The special election shall be called by ordinance or proclamation of the mayor of the annexing municipality in accordance with §
7-11-201
et seq.
(2)
(A)
If a majority of the qualified electors voting in the election vote for the annexation, no later than fifteen (15) days following the election, the county clerk shall certify the election results and record the same, along with the description and a map of the annexed area, in the county records, and file a certified copy thereof with the Secretary of State.
(B)
The annexation shall be effective, and the lands annexed shall be included within the corporate limits of the annexing municipality thirty (30) days following the date of recording and filing of the description and map, as provided in this section, or in the event an action is filed with the circuit court as provided in §
14-40-304
, on the date the judgment of the court becomes final.
(3)
If a majority of the qualified electors voting on the issue at the election vote against the annexation, the annexation ordinance shall be null and void.
(c)
(1)
(A)
The city clerk shall certify two (2) copies of the annexation ordinance and a plat or map of the area to be annexed and convey one (1) copy to the county clerk and one (1) copy to the county election commission at least sixty (60) days before the election.
(B)
(i)
No later than forty-five (45) days prior to the election, the city shall identify all persons who reside within the area proposed to be annexed, and the county clerk shall assist the city in determining the names and addresses of all qualified electors residing within that area.
(ii)
The failure to identify all persons residing within the area proposed to be annexed or the failure to determine the names and addresses of all qualified electors residing within that area shall not invalidate or otherwise affect the results of the election.
(C)
All of the qualified electors residing within the territory to be annexed shall be entitled to vote in the election.
(D)
The city clerk shall give notice of the election by publication by at least one (1) insertion in some newspaper having a general circulation in the city.
(2)
(A)
The county clerk shall give notice of the voter registration deadlines at least forty (40) days before the election by ordinary mail to those persons whose names and addresses are on the list provided by the city clerk.
(B)
The county clerk shall prepare a list by precinct of all those qualified electors residing within the area to be annexed who are qualified to vote in that precinct and furnish that list to the election officials at the time the ballot boxes are delivered.
(3)
If the county clerk or the county election commission shall fail to perform any duties required of it, then any interested party may apply for a writ of mandamus to require the performance of the duties. The failure of the county clerk or the county election commission to perform the duties shall not void the annexation election unless a court finds that the failure to perform the duties substantially prejudiced an interested party.
(d)
If the annexation is approved and becomes final, as soon as practical after the annexation the governing body of the city shall attach and incorporate by ordinance the annexed territory to and in one (1) or more wards of the city lying adjacent thereto, and the territory so assigned and attached to a ward shall thereafter be considered and become a part thereof as fully as any other part of the city.
(e)
From the map or plat provided by city ordinance of the wards assigned, the county clerk shall proceed to ascertain and determine the voters' proper precinct and shall enter the same upon the voter registration records of those inhabitants of the territory so annexed and give notice of that change within thirty (30) days after the adoption of the city ordinance assigning the territory to wards.
(f)
(1)
In the event that within thirty (30) days of the date that one (1) city calls for an annexation election, another city calls for an annexation election on all or part of the same land proposed to be annexed by the first city, then both annexation elections shall be held, provided that the second city must call for its annexation election to be held on the next available date in accordance with §
7-11-201
et seq. before or after the holding of the first city's election.
(2)
(A)
If the annexation election held first is approved by the voters, the results of it shall be stayed until the second annexation election is held.
(B)
(i)
If only one (1) of the annexation elections is approved by the voters, then the city that called that election shall proceed with the annexation of the land.
(ii)
(a)
Except as provided in subdivisions (f)(2)(B)(ii)
(b)
and
(c)
of this section, if both annexation elections are approved by the voters, then a third election shall be held three (3) weeks after the second annexation election. The provisions of §
7-11-201
et seq., governing the procedures and dates on which special elections may be held shall not apply to the third annexation election provided in this subsection.
(b)
If the date of the third election falls upon a legal holiday, the election shall be held four (4) weeks after the second annexation election.
(c)
If the date of the election under subdivision (f)(2)(B)(ii)
(b)
of this section is a legal holiday, the election shall be held five (5) weeks after the second annexation election.
(iii)
Notice of the third election shall be published in a newspaper circulated in the area to be annexed during the period following the second election.
(iv)
Only the residents of the area proposed to be annexed by both cities shall vote in the third election.
(v)
The issue on the ballot in the third election shall be into which of the two (2) cities the residents of the area want to be annexed.
(vi)
The area shall be annexed into the city receiving the most votes in the third election.
(vii)
In the event of a tie vote in the third election, the area shall be annexed to the city that had the highest percentage vote in favor of the annexation in the first or second election.
(3)
If the city that does not get to annex the area voted on by both cities included land in its annexation election other than the land voted on by both cities, then that land shall be annexed into the city if it is still contiguous to the city after the other land is annexed to the other city, but the land shall remain part of the county if it is not so contiguous.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 610,§ 13, eff. 1/1/2022.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 219,§ 1, eff. 7/24/2019.
Acts 1971, No. 298, § 2; 1975, No. 309, § 2; A.S.A. 1947, § 19-307.2; Acts 1991, No. 725, § 1; 1993, No. 356, § 1; 1999, No. 639, § 1; 2005, No. 2145, § 22; 2007, No. 557, § 1; 2007, No. 1049, § 40; 2009, No. 420, § 1; 2009, No. 1480, §§ 58, 59.