All Arkansans will be able to cite concerns about covid-19 as an excuse to vote by absentee ballot in the November elections, Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced Thursday.
The governor, who had not previously committed to expanding the use of mail-in or absentee ballots during the election, made the announcement alongside the chairs of the state’s Republican and Democratic parties, as well as Secretary of State John Thurston.
Arkansas law allows voters to request an absentee ballot if they will be "unavoidably absent" on Election Day or if they have an illness or physical disability. Thurston said last week that he believed the law will allow voters to choose whether or not to vote absentee during the pandemic, an interpretation that Hutchinson said he concurred with.
“They just simply have a concern, a fear of going to the polling place because of the covid-19, that’s enough of a reason,” to vote absentee, Hutchinson said.
Thurston said voters can begin requesting absentee ballots from his office or the county clerk immediately. The deadline to request an absentee ballot by mail is Oct. 27, though voters can pick up an absentee ballot until Nov. 2, the day before the election.
All absentee ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted, Thurston said.
The new absentee voting requirements are different from the universal vote-by-mail system already in place in some states, which send a ballot by mail to every registered voter. Voters in Arkansas must still request an absentee ballot.
