§ 7-5-310 — Privacy - Assistance to voters with disabilities

Arkansas § 7-5-310

• Jurisdiction: Arkansas
• Title: 7

Text

(a) (1) Each voter shall be provided the privacy to mark his or her ballot. Privacy shall be provided by the poll workers at each polling site or by the county clerk, if the county clerk conducts early voting, to ensure that a voter desiring privacy is not singled out. (2) (A) In a county that uses paper ballots, the county board of election commissioners shall determine and provide the appropriate number of voting booths for each polling site. (B) A voting booth shall be: (i) Constructed to permit the voter to prepare his or her ballot while screened from observation; (ii) Furnished with supplies and conveniences that will enable the voter to prepare his or her ballot; and (iii) Situated in the plain view of a poll worker. (C) If a person is not a poll worker and is not casting a ballot, he or she shall not be within six feet (6') of the voting booths, unless: (i) The person is authorized by an election judge; and (ii) The person's presence is necessary to keep order or enforce the law. (3) A person may not enter a polling site on election day during voting hours unless the person is: (A) An election official; (B) An authorized poll watcher; (C) A voter present to cast his or her ballot; (D) A person in the care of a voter if the person: (i) Does not disrupt or interfere with the normal voting procedures; and (ii) Is not eligible to vote in that election; (E) A person lawfully assisting the voter; (F) A law enforcement officer or emergency service personnel who are acting in the line of duty; (G) A monitor authorized by the State Board of Election Commissioners or observer authorized by a federal agency with the authority to place the observer at the polling site; (H) (i) A person with business in the polling site that is not connected to the election. (ii) A person with business in the polling site that is not connected to the election shall remain outside of the voter processing area or voting room except to pass through or by the voter processing area or voting room without speaking to a voter or an election official and with the purpose to conduct his or her business; (I) A person whom the county clerk or the county board of election commissioners has authorized to assist in conducting the election; (J) A person authorized by the State Board of Election Commissioners or the county board of election commissioners; or (K) The county clerk. (b) (1) A voter shall inform the poll workers at the time that the voter presents himself or herself to vote that he or she is unable to mark or cast the ballot without help and needs assistance in casting or marking his or her ballot. (2) The voter shall be directed to a voting machine equipped for use by persons with disabilities by which he or she may elect to cast his or her ballot without assistance, or the voter may request assistance with either the paper ballot or the voting machine, depending on the voting system in use for the election, by: (A) Two (2) poll workers; or (B) A person named by the voter. (3) If the voter is assisted by two (2) poll workers, one (1) of the poll workers shall observe the voting process and one (1) may assist the voter in marking and casting the ballot according to the wishes of the voter without comment or interpretation. (4) (A) (i) If the voter is assisted by one (1) person named by the voter, he or she may assist the voter in marking and casting the ballot according to the wishes of the voter without any comment or interpretation. (ii) If an election official witnesses the person assisting the voter commenting or interpreting in violation of subdivision (b)(4)(A)(i) of this section: (a) The election official may cause the person assisting the voter to be removed from the polling site; and (b) If the voter requests additional assistance in marking and casting his or her ballot, it may be provided by two (2) election officials trained to do so. (B) No person other than the following shall assist more than six (6) voters in marking and casting a ballot at an election: (i) A poll worker; (ii) The county clerk during early voting; or (iii) A deputy county clerk during early voting. (C) If the person whose assistance has been requested by the voter is a candidate on the ballot: (i) The candidate shall not assist more than six (6) voters in the election; and (ii) The candidate may only assist a voter who is related to the candidate within the second degree of consanguinity. (5) It shall be the duty of the poll workers at the polling site to make and maintain a list of the names and addresses of all persons assisting voters. (c) Any voter who, because of physical, sensory, or other disability, presents himself or herself for voting and then informs a poll worker at the polling site that he or she is unable to stand in line for extended periods of time shall be entitled to and assisted by a poll worker to advance to the head of any line of voters then waiting in line to vote at the polling site.

Legislative History

Amended by Act 2019, No. 965,§ 1, eff. 7/24/2019. Amended by Act 2013, No. 1461,§ 2, eff. 8/16/2013. Acts 1995, No. 908, § 1; 1995, No. 1296, § 39; 1997, No. 451, § 22; 2003, No. 1308, § 1; 2005, No. 2233, § 6; 2007, No. 1020, § 7; 2009, No. 658, § 3; 2009, No. 959, § 14.