Study shows Arkansas ranks last in voter turnout, how ballot measures intend to bring numbers up
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – As we inch closer to the 2024 election, a recent study shows Arkansas ranks last in voter turnout.
The study conducted by the National Conference of Citizenship shows in the 2020 election, 54% of Arkansans voted, whereas the national average is nearly 65%.
University of Arkansas Political Science Professor and poll director Janine Parry said that levels of education and income are significant predictors of voter engagement. Another important factor she believes is a history of party monopoly in the state.
“Arkansas has the deepest history of party monopoly, so for 140 years it was only Democrats,” Parry said. “For the last decade, it has been Republicans and only Republicans.”
Parry said based on her research, some Arkansans feel it becomes an inter-party affair and choose not to participate as a result.
But this election, you may see more than just candidates on your ballot in Arkansas.
“We’re seeing Democrats counter with abortion measures or greater protection for the press and freedom of information,” Parry said. “The teams who are running those measures are interested in those topics, but it does not get overlooked by any of the actors in the landscape that you can also get a little uptick in voter turnout.”
Public Policy Panel Executive Director Bill Kopsky is backing a ballot initiative that would make changes to the state constitution regarding education.
“They need to vote, and they need to hold the people in this building accountable for the way they do vote,” Kopsky said in an interview last Thursday inside the state capitol. “Oftentimes, legislators in this building get a little out of step with the public because there’s so many lobbyists here that dominate the system.”
Parry said when it comes to states with such dominant party control like ours, reversing that would take years of changes.
“It’s just sort of the lay of the land for the next couple of decades to be honest,” she said.
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The report makes several recommendations to address these shortcomings. This includes allowing online and same-day voter registration, enabling automatic registration for voters with a driver’s license, and allowing 16-year-olds to pre-register to vote.
It also recommends having more polling locations and expanding no-excuse absentee voting.
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