By Steve Brawner, © 2026 by Steve Brawner Communications, Inc.

This year’s open primary elections in Arkansas will be a little more closed, but only to Democrats seeking to vote in the Republican primary.

Traditionally, every Arkansas voter freely could vote in the Republican, Democratic, or a nonpartisan primary. The latter voters cast a shorter ballot featuring only judicial and other nonpartisan races.

Some Republicans in recent years have argued that their primary should be reserved for Republicans. They’ve argued that crossover Democrats could be affecting the results.

That’s a reasonable position. 

The counter argument is that less than 8.2% of the state’s voters are registered Republicans, so others would have to either declare their allegiance to a party or otherwise not vote. Not voting in the Republican primary in much of Arkansas means skipping the election that often matters the most.

Some Republicans would be concerned about the candidates who would win if only registered party members voted. Those voters tend to be more partisan and more ideological than the general public – the latter being conservative enough in Arkansas.

The compromise position Republicans adopted in last June’s state committee meeting was to ban only registered Democrats. It doesn’t apply to the 87% of Arkansans who registered as “optional.” It doesn’t apply to the small number of Libertarians and Green Party members. 

It’s a party rule, not a state law passed by legislators, who considered passing one but never did. Nevertheless, county clerks will comply as if it were a law. When a registered Democrat approaches the election worker, the digital tablets used in all 75 counties will not give that voter the option of voting in the Republican primary, Secretary of State Elections Coordinator Leslie Bellamy said.

However, registered Democrats can change their voter registration at the polls to Republican, optional, or another party. The whole process should take 5-10 minutes, according to Margaret Darter, county clerk for Conway’s Faulkner County. Absentee voters also can change their party affiliation.

Darter doesn’t expect the rule to affect many voters. First, there aren’t that many registered Democrats in her county or in Arkansas. Statewide, there were 86,568 as of Wednesday, according to the secretary of state’s office, compared to 147,423 Republicans and roughly 1.57 million “optionals.” There were 740 Libertarians and 120 members of the state’s dormant Green Party.

Second, if a person is a registered Democrat in Arkansas these days, they apparently really want to be one. 

“I don’t anticipate this being a major problem,” said Darter. “It may be one or two people, and may be up to 10. There may not be any, because if you’ve told me your affiliation is Democrat, then you’re pretty solid that you’re a Democrat.”

Furthermore, the Democratic primaries are as interesting as the Republican primaries are this year. While Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders doesn’t have a Republican opponent, the Democrats have a contested primary with state Sen. Fred Love, D-Mabelvale, facing Supha Xayprasith-Mays. 

Democrats also have a contested U.S. Senate primary between Hallie Shoffner and Lewisville Mayor Ethan Dunbar. They also have contested races in the 2nd and 4th Congressional Districts.

Given that the primaries are a vital part of the electoral process, and that they are funded by taxpayers and administered by government officials, it’s worth considering changes apart from what the parties demand.

A few states have some variation of a “top two” system. These put all the candidates on one ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the November general election. The idea is to force candidates to try to communicate to all voters rather than just their slice of the electorate. The November general election, when more voters are voting, might then be more compelling and competitive.  

Hypothetically, a future governor’s race might pit Lt. Governor Leslie Rutledge versus Attorney General Tim Griffin in the broad-based general election rather than in the small-turnout Republican primary. 

There’s also ranked choice voting, where voters rank the candidates. It makes it easier for third parties and independents to compete because voters don’t feel they must choose their lesser-of-two-evils major party. They instead can vote that party second behind the party they really support. Alaska and Vermont use this system. Arkansas does for military and overseas voters, although lawmakers in 2025 banned it in other instances.

Both of those reforms would open up the process. Sometimes that’s necessary.

Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 21 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.