Arkansas Code of 1987 (2023) › Title 7 - ELECTIONS (§§ 7-1-101 — 7-11-303) › Chapter 5 - ELECTION PROCEDURE GENERALLY (§§ 7-5-101 — 7-5-906) › Subchapter 7 - RETURNS AND CANVASS (§§ 7-5-701 — 7-5-707) › Section 7-5-701 - Declaration of results - Certification, delivery, and custody of returns

(a)
(1)
No earlier than forty-eight (48) hours after the election and no later than the fifteenth calendar day after the election, the county board of election commissioners, from the certificates and ballots received from the several precincts, shall proceed to ascertain, declare, and certify the result of the election to the Secretary of State.
(2)
Unopposed candidates, other than candidates for mayor, Governor, and circuit clerk, shall be separately declared and certified to the Secretary of State as elected in the same manner as if the candidate had been voted upon at the election.
(3)
(A)
As results are received and tabulated on election night for all state and federal elections, the county board of election commissioners shall declare preliminary and unofficial results of the election as soon as early voting, absentee, or individual precinct results are tabulated but no later than twenty-four (24) hours after polls close on election night and immediately shall transmit the results by precinct to the Secretary of State through the election night reporting interface provided by the Secretary of State.
(B)
The county board of election commissioners may, by agreement with the county clerk, transmit the results to the county clerk who immediately shall transmit the results by precinct to the Secretary of State under subdivision (a)(3)(A) of this section.
(C)
On election night for all state and federal elections, immediately after the count of the vote is complete but no later than twenty-four (24) hours after polls close on election night, the county board of election commissioners shall:
(i)
Declare preliminary and unofficial results of the election, including a statement of the number of outstanding:
(a)
Ballots of voters who requested ballots under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act,
52 U.S.C. § 20301
et seq.; and
(b)
Provisional ballots; and
(ii)
Immediately transmit the results by precinct to the Secretary of State through the election night reporting interface provided by the Secretary of State.
(D)
The county board of election commissioners may, by agreement with the county clerk, transmit the results to the county clerk who shall immediately transmit the results by precinct to the Secretary of State as described in subdivision (a)(3)(C) of this section.
(E)
The Secretary of State may establish policies and procedures to accomplish the objectives set forth under this section.
(4)
Within nineteen (19) calendar days after any general, special, or school election, the county board of election commissioners shall deliver a certificate of election to the person having the highest number of legal votes for any county office.
(b)
The county board of election commissioners shall also file in the office of the clerk of the county court a certificate setting forth in detail the result of the election in each precinct.
(c)
(1)
No earlier than forty-eight (48) hours after the election and no later than the fifteenth calendar day after the election, the county board of election commissioners shall deposit certified copies of the abstracts of the returns of the election for members of the United States Congress and for all executive, legislative, and judicial officers in the nearest post office on the most direct route to the seat of government and directed to the Secretary of State.
(2)
Separate from an abstract, the county board of election commissioners shall certify all unopposed candidates for these offices as elected in the same manner as if the candidate had been voted upon at the election.
(3)
The county board of election commissioners shall not receive compensation for election duties after the election until the election results have been certified and delivered to the Secretary of State.
(4)
The Secretary of State shall file a complaint with the State Board of Election Commissioners under §
7-4-120
if the county board of election commissioners does not comply with subdivision (c)(1) of this section.
(d)
(1)
It shall at the same time enclose in a separate envelope and direct to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, in care of the Secretary of State, at the seat of government, a certified copy of the abstract of votes given for Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, Treasurer of State, Auditor of State, and Attorney General.
(2)
It is the duty of the Secretary of State to safely keep the returns addressed to the Speaker of the House of Representatives until they shall be required for the purpose of ascertaining and declaring the result of the election as prescribed in Arkansas Constitution, Article 6, § 3.
Amended by Act 2023, No. 350,§ 6, eff. 3/21/2023.
Amended by Act 2023, No. 350,§ 5, eff. 3/21/2023.
Amended by Act 2021, No. 448,§ 8, eff. 7/28/2021.
Amended by Act 2019, No. 254,§ 2, eff. 7/24/2019.
Amended by Act 2017, No. 730,§ 3, eff. 8/1/2017.
Amended by Act 2013, No. 1211,§ 5, eff. 8/16/2013.
Amended by Act 2013, No. 1058,§ 1, eff. 8/16/2013.
Acts 1969, No. 465, Art. 8, § 1; 1971, No. 261, § 14; A.S.A. 1947, § 3-801; Acts 1993, No. 512, § 3; 1993, No. 966, § 1; 1995, No. 441, § 1; 1995, No. 723, § 1; 1995, No. 724, § 1; 1999, No. 1304, § 1; 2001, No. 1475, § 1; 2003, No. 131, § 1; 2005, No. 731, § 1; 2005, No. 895, § 1; 2005, No. 1677, § 5.