Issue 1 of 2026 - Defining Who is Eligible to Vote in Arkansas

A constitutional amendment to be known as "The Citizens Only Voting Amendment" and providing that only a citizen of the United States meeting the qualifications of an elector under the Arkansas Constitution may vote in an election in this state.

An amendment to the Arkansas Constitution to create "The Citizens Only Voting Amendment"; to provide that only a citizen of the United States meeting the qualifications of an elector under the Arkansas Constitution may vote in an election in this state; and providing that a person who does not meet the qualifications of an elector under the Arkansas Constitution shall not be permitted to vote in any state or local election held in this state.

The Arkansas Constitution grants the legislature the right to include up to three constitutional amendments on the general election ballot. The Arkansas Senate and House of Representatives voted in April 2025 to place Issue 1 on the November 2026 General Election Ballot.

Amending the state constitution requires the approval of a majority of voters in a statewide election. Election Day is Nov. 3, 2026.

Rep. David Ray of Maumelle and Sen. John Payton of Wilburn

On Election Day, the ballot will show only the popular name and ballot title of this issue.

Every proposal has more text to it that further describes the proposed law. Read the complete text of Issue 1, or HJR1018 of 2025 as it was previously known, on the legislature's website.

A FOR vote means you are in favor of changing the Arkansas Constitution to specifically say only U.S. citizens who satisfy the existing qualifications of an elector may vote in Arkansas elections, and that a person who doesn’t satisfy those requirements may not vote in a state or local election. The four existing qualifications, including U.S. citizenship, would remain unchanged.

An AGAINST vote means you are not in favor of changing Article 3 of the Arkansas Constitution about who can vote in Arkansas elections.

Issue 1 proposes changing the existing wording in Article 3 of the Arkansas Constitution about who can vote in Arkansas elections and adding specific language that people who don’t meet the criteria, specifically noncitizens, cannot vote in local and state elections.

In 2008, voters approved a constitutional amendment changing the text of Article 3 in the Arkansas Constitution. The amendment, referred by the legislature, recognized regulations already in place. The constitutional amendment deleted outdated references to voters paying poll taxes and the requirement that people needed to be 21years old in order to register to vote. Voters approved what is known as Amendment 85 by a vote of 714,128 (73%) to 267,326 (27%).

There has been a requirement that Arkansas voters have U.S. citizenship to vote in state and local elections since voters approved Amendment 8 in 1920.

Article 3, Section 1 of the Arkansas Constitution establishes the “qualifications of electors,” or people who can vote in Arkansas elections.

This section currently says: 
“(a) Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, any person may vote in an election in this state who is:
1. A citizen of the United States;
2. A resident of the State of Arkansas; 
3. At least 18 years of age; and
4. Lawfully registered to vote in the election”

In addition to this language in Article 3, Section 9 of Amendment 51 to Arkansas’ Constitution addresses voter registration requirements as follows: 

“All persons may register who:
1. Have not been convicted of a felony unless the person’s sentence has been discharged or the person has been pardoned;
2. Have not been adjudged mentally incompetent by a court of competent jurisdiction.
3. Meet one (1) of the following requirements:
A. Are qualified electors who have not previously registered;
B. Will become qualified electors during the thirty-day period immediately prior to the next election scheduled within the county; or
C. Are otherwise qualified electors but whose registration has been canceled in a manner provided for by this amendment; and
D. Are citizens of the United States.

Issue 1 proposes to add two new sentences to Article 3, Section 1 and modify the end of one sentence.

The section in the Arkansas Constitution would instead read:

(a)(1) Only a citizen of the United States meeting the qualifications of an elector under this section may vote in an election in this state.

(2) A person who does not meet the qualifications of an elector under this section shall not be permitted to vote in any state or local election held in this state.

(b) Except as otherwise provided by this Constitution, to vote in an election in this state a person shall be:

1. A citizen of the United States;
2. A resident of the State of Arkansas;
3. At least eighteen (18) years of age; and
4. Lawfully registered to vote in the election.

About 117,000 people out of the 3.1 million people living in Arkansas are not currently U.S. citizens, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey. The statistics include people who are lawful permanent residents, foreign students and other temporary migrants, people who are in the country with humanitarian protections, and unauthorized migrants

Under federal law, noncitizens cannot vote in federal elections. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 made it a crime for noncitizens to vote in federal elections. A person who violates the federal law faces fines and up to one year in prison, and opens themselves up to deportation.

There is no state in which noncitizens can vote in state elections. Since 2018, 15 state constitutions prohibit noncitizens from voting in state and local elections. The organization Americans for Citizen Voting has been lobbying state legislatures, including Arkansas, to change the wording of their constitutions to be more explicit about allowing only citizens to vote. In addition to Arkansas, legislatures in Kansas, South Dakota and West Virgina placed noncitizen voting amendments on their November 2026 ballots. A citizen initiative effort in Alaska for a similar constitutional amendment has qualified for the ballot.

There are some communities in California, Maryland, Vermont, along with Washington D.C. that allow noncitizens to vote in certain local elections. Since 1992, 16 cities in Maryland have approved giving noncitizens the right to vote in city elections. Over the past decade, voters in San Francisco and Oakland, California, approved local ballot measures to allow noncitizens who are parents or legal guardians of children in their school districts to vote in school board elections. 

Three cities in Vermont currently allow noncitizens to vote in city elections. Additionally, in 2022, the Washington, D.C., City Council changed city code to allow noncitizens to vote in local elections, including local ballot measures. Congress, which has oversight of several functions in the district, did 
not block the law change.

There have not been any local governments in Arkansas that have proposed allowing noncitizens to vote.

This proposal would take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

• Whether you say, ‘every citizen, any citizen or all citizens,’ none of those phrases are sufficient because they constitute a floor rather than a ceiling. A floor says that any citizens can vote but leaves room as we have discovered in other states for other people to be added to that list. By moving to only-citizen 
  language we’re setting a ceiling for eligibility that only citizens may vote and nobody else. That’s exclusive, unambiguous and absolute.
  
  
• We all have voters in our districts and across the state who are concerned about the crisis of illegal immigration and they want us to do something about it.
  
  
• Major American cities have taken steps to allow for noncitizens to legally cast ballots in their elections. Even though cities in Arkansas have not yet taken that step, it is much easier to address before that happens here.
  
  
• Simply put, the future of American government should be decided by Americans, rather than by allowing legalized noncitizen voting, which would dilute the voting power of American citizens.

• The Arkansas Constitution already restricts the right to vote to U.S. citizens who are residents of Arkansas. The amendment changes a few words but makes no substantive changes. So why propose the amendment at all?
  
  
• If voters approve the proposed amendment, the General Assembly could use the amendment as the impetus to pass new restrictive proof of citizenship legislation in 2027, establishing requirements that many qualified voters could not meet.
  
  
• Since 1920, the Arkansas Constitution has restricted the right to vote to U.S. citizens who are residents of Arkansas. The amendment changes a few words but makes no substantive changes. A months-long investigation by election officials on whether non-citizens were illegally voting in Arkansas found they
  were not. Immigrants will not vote if they are not citizens and risk future citizenship, prison or deportation.
  
  
• This amendment sends the message to immigrants that they do not belong. Its presence on the ballot is a waste of time and tax payer dollars.