HB 1829 Summary

• Amends Arkansas Code § 7-5-310 to establish procedures for voters requiring assistance in casting ballots due to blindness, disability, or inability to read or write.

• Allows voters to request assistance from: two poll workers, two county clerk staff members, one poll worker and one county clerk staff member, or a person named by the voter (immediate family member or qualified elector).

• Reduces the limit on non-poll worker assistants from six (6) voters to four (4) voters per election, including those serving as designated bearers of absentee ballots.

• Requires assistants to provide current photographic identification and sign a register acknowledging legal restrictions; establishes penalties up to $10,000 fine or 10 years imprisonment for false information.

• Makes it a Class D felony for an assistant to knowingly vote or mark a ballot contrary to voter direction or to disclose how a voter voted.