---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO AMEND ARKANSAS ELECTION LAW; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING SPECIAL ELECTIONS; AND TO ESTABLISH UNIFORM DATES FOR HOLDING SPECIAL ELECTIONS."
description: "TO AMEND ARKANSAS ELECTION LAW; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING SPECIAL ELECTIONS; AND TO ESTABLISH UNIFORM DATES FOR HOLDING SPECIAL ELECTIONS."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2021"
identifier: "SB 496"
citation: "Arkansas SB 496 (2021)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Hawks", "Rapert"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 18
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2021-03-08T19:36:30+00:00"
last_action: "2021-04-12T15:01:27+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/443c2921-9cbf-4f6e-be78-9f09a8cbfccd"
source_url: "ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/SessionInformation/LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "d5efe04c828952106e3926a6dd18e8c835e297632366800897c166ab87129692"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ar"]
---

# Arkansas SB 496 (2021) — TO AMEND ARKANSAS ELECTION LAW; TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING SPECIAL ELECTIONS; AND TO ESTABLISH UNIFORM DATES FOR HOLDING SPECIAL ELECTIONS.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **Amendment S1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2021R%2FPublic%2FSB496-S1.pdf)
2. **SB 496** (committee substitute) — [source](ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/2021R/Public/Searchable/SB496.pdf)

## Votes

- Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. — **74–9** (pass) · lower
- Read the third time and passed. — **27–1** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Hawks — primary (person)
- Rapert — primary (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2021-03-08T19:36:30+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2021-03-08T20:32:20+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-16T22:08:13+00:00** Returned by the Committee with the recommendation that it Do Pass as amended, Amendment # 1 `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2021-03-17T18:17:29+00:00** Placed on second reading for purpose of amendment.
- **2021-03-17T18:17:41+00:00** Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2021-03-17T20:48:26+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2021-03-18T19:31:33+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-03-18T19:31:46+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2021-03-18T21:34:13+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2021-03-18T22:27:25+00:00** Read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and referred to the Committee on STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS- HOUSE `reading-1, reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2021-03-31T18:03:49+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2021-04-01T19:28:04+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2021-04-01T19:28:10+00:00** Returned To the Senate as passed.
- **2021-04-01T21:21:06+00:00** Returned from the House as passed.
- **2021-04-01T21:21:09+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2021-04-05T15:28:43+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2021-04-05T15:28:50+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2021-04-12T15:01:27+00:00** Notification that SB496 is now Act 610 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/443c2921-9cbf-4f6e-be78-9f09a8cbfccd`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).