Opinion ID: 691362
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Arkansas Party Primary Election Scheme

Text: 18 In 1969, the Arkansas legislature replaced its ancient and outdated election code with a set of laws which, in substantial part, continue to govern the state's elections, campaigns and political parties. Acts 1969, No. 465, Art. 13, Sec. 10. Consistent with the Supreme Court's understanding of parties as public/private hybrids, the bulk of the code's party regulations are restricted to such matters as campaign finance, primary election procedures and the certification of nominees. 19 Section 7-3-101 of the Arkansas Code establishes the basic duties and powers of organized political parties. These include a right to set the qualifications for membership and a duty to set them for voters in party primaries. Ark.Code Ann. Secs. 7-3-101(1) and (2). Other provisions lay down rules for the selection of national, state and county committee members and general procedures to be followed at state and county conventions. Secs. 7-3-102 to -107. Political participation by the Communist Party and its affiliates is forbidden. Sec. 7-3-108. 20 At issue in this appeal is the combined effect of two statutes. The first, Sec. 7-7-102(a), provides: 21 Nominees of any political party for United States Senate, United States House of Representatives, state, district or county office to be voted upon at a general election shall be certified as having received a majority of the votes cast for the office, or as an unopposed candidate, at a primary election held by the political party in the manner provided by law. The second, Sec. 7-3-101(4), provides: 22 [O]rganized political parties shall: 23 .... 24 (4) Pay the expenses of their own primary election. However, any part of the expenses of the primary may be paid by a county whenever an appropriation therefor is made by the quorum court of the county. 25 Thus, when more than one candidate seeks a party's nomination for an office, the party must conduct and provide funding for a primary election. Specifically, Arkansas mandates a preferential primary election followed by a general primary election. Sec. 7-7-202. The general primary election is required only when no candidate in a given race receives a majority of the votes cast for that office. Sec. 7-7-304. The top two vote-getters in the preferential primary advance to the general primary. Dates for primary elections are fixed by statute. Sec. 7-7-203. A party must comply with all state laws governing primary elections, otherwise the election will not be declared a legal election. Sec. 7-7-201. 26 The only alternate means of ballot access requires the prospective candidate to file as an independent candidate and to submit a petition signed by a specified number of qualified electors. Sec. 7-7-103. Candidates for county, township or district office must submit petitions signed by three percent of the qualified electors within the relevant political boundaries. Sec. 7-7-103(c)(1). The number of qualified electors is defined as the total number of votes cast in the previous election for governor. Sec. 7-7-103(c)(4). Candidates for statewide office must furnish petitions signed by the lesser of three percent or 10,000 of the state's qualified electors. Sec. 7-7-103(c)(2). Independent candidates are allowed sixty days in which to gather the requisite signatures. Sec. 7-7-103(c)(3). A candidate who was defeated in a party primary cannot later file as an independent candidate for the same office. Sec. 7-7-103(f). In addition, Arkansas permits party nominations to be filled without a primary election when the nomination becomes vacant through, for example, death or resignation. Sec. 7-7-104. 27 Thus, in combination, sections 7-7-102(a) and 7-3-101(4) establish that a party seeking to place nominees on the general election ballot must organize, conduct and pay for a party primary. Put another way, the only candidates who may appear on the general election ballot accompanied by party identification are those whose parties are willing and able to fund a primary election. 28 In part, state law fixes the weight of the financial burden imposed on political parties. For example, parties must compensate county clerks for their primary election services at a rate set by statute. Sec. 7-5-415. Ballots must conform to specifications set forth by statute, Sec. 7-7-305, and election day procedures are prescribed in detail. See, e.g., Secs. 7-5-416, 7-7-308, 7-7-310. Conversely, Arkansas partially offsets the costs of conducting primary elections by requiring counties to bear [t]he cost of preparing voting machines for all elections at which they are to be used ... including the cost of all necessary supplies and technical assistance required in preparing the machine and the cost of transporting voting machines to and from the polling places in each county.... Sec. 7-5-508.