---
type: "Bill"
title: "TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DAMAGED BALLOTS; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTION PROCEDURES."
description: "TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DAMAGED BALLOTS; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTION PROCEDURES."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 253"
citation: "Arkansas SB 253 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Crowell", "Pilkington"]
version_count: 3
action_count: 20
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2023-02-13T16:59:48+00:00"
last_action: "2023-04-19T20:51:08+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/70aa8860-71ce-43b7-b3bd-d5c7bf80f416"
source_url: "ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/SessionInformation/LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "76f3750323901ee0b79de56ee1731874d4176f5d6c06746337d98d9d0c8ad712"
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 253 (2023) — TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING DAMAGED BALLOTS; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTION PROCEDURES.

## Version chain

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

1. **Act 460** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2F&file=460.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2023%2F2023R)
2. **Amendment S1** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Home/FTPDocument?path=%2FAMEND%2F2023R%2FPublic%2FSB253-S1.pdf)
3. **SB 253** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2023/2023R/Bills/SB253.pdf)

## Votes

- Read the third time and passed. — **35–0** (pass) · upper
- Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. — **91–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Crowell — primary (person)
- Pilkington — primary (person)
- Achor — cosponsor (person)
- Andrews — cosponsor (person)
- B. McKenzie — cosponsor (person)
- Barker — cosponsor (person)
- Beaty Jr. — cosponsor (person)
- Beck — cosponsor (person)
- Bentley — cosponsor (person)
- Breaux — cosponsor (person)
- Brooks — cosponsor (person)
- Burkes — cosponsor (person)
- C. Cooper — cosponsor (person)
- C. Fite — cosponsor (person)
- Cozart — cosponsor (person)
- Dees — cosponsor (person)
- Evans — cosponsor (person)
- Fortner — cosponsor (person)
- Furman — cosponsor (person)
- Gazaway — cosponsor (person)
- Gonzales — cosponsor (person)
- Gramlich — cosponsor (person)
- Haak — cosponsor (person)
- Hawk — cosponsor (person)
- Hollowell — cosponsor (person)
- J. Petty — cosponsor (person)
- Jean — cosponsor (person)
- Joey Carr — cosponsor (person)
- K. Brown — cosponsor (person)
- K. Hammer — cosponsor (person)
- K. Moore — cosponsor (person)
- L. Fite — cosponsor (person)
- Ladyman — cosponsor (person)
- Long — cosponsor (person)
- Lundstrum — cosponsor (person)
- Lynch — cosponsor (person)
- M. Berry — cosponsor (person)
- M. Brown — cosponsor (person)
- M. McElroy — cosponsor (person)
- M. McKee — cosponsor (person)
- McAlindon — cosponsor (person)
- McClure — cosponsor (person)
- McCollum — cosponsor (person)
- McGrew — cosponsor (person)
- McNair — cosponsor (person)
- Miller — cosponsor (person)
- Milligan — cosponsor (person)
- Painter — cosponsor (person)
- Pearce — cosponsor (person)
- Puryear — cosponsor (person)
- R. Scott Richardson — cosponsor (person)
- Richmond — cosponsor (person)
- Rose — cosponsor (person)
- Rye — cosponsor (person)
- S. Meeks — cosponsor (person)
- Schulz — cosponsor (person)
- Steimel — cosponsor (person)
- Stone — cosponsor (person)
- Tosh — cosponsor (person)
- Underwood — cosponsor (person)
- Vaught — cosponsor (person)
- Wing — cosponsor (person)
- Womack — cosponsor (person)
- Wooldridge — cosponsor (person)
- Wooten — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-02-13T16:59:48+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2023-02-13T19:18:31+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2023-03-07T14:22:10+00:00** Withdrawn from Committee for purpose of amendment # 1
- **2023-03-07T14:22:14+00:00** Placed on second reading for purpose of amendment.
- **2023-03-07T14:22:19+00:00** Amendment # 1 read the first time, rules suspended, read the second time and adopted, ordered engrossed.
- **2023-03-07T19:18:09+00:00** REPORTED CORRECTLY ENGROSSED
- **2023-03-07T19:18:16+00:00** Re-referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-09T17:37:49+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-03-13T18:53:05+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-13T18:55:16+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2023-03-13T21:59:38+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2023-03-13T23:04:37+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`
- **2023-03-30T02:00:56+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2023-03-30T21:43:43+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-30T21:43:51+00:00** Returned To the Senate as passed.
- **2023-03-31T16:50:52+00:00** Returned from the House as passed.
- **2023-03-31T16:50:57+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2023-03-31T17:03:09+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2023-03-31T17:03:10+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-04-19T20:51:08+00:00** Notification that SB253 is now Act 460 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/70aa8860-71ce-43b7-b3bd-d5c7bf80f416`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).