---
type: "Bill"
title: "AN ACT TO ELIMINATE WRITE-IN CANDIDATES IN ELECTIONS; TO AMEND ELECTION PROCEDURES; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTION."
description: "AN ACT TO ELIMINATE WRITE-IN CANDIDATES IN ELECTIONS; TO AMEND ELECTION PROCEDURES; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTION."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ar"
legislature: "Arkansas Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "SB 254"
citation: "Arkansas SB 254 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Crowell", "Schulz"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 15
vote_count: 2
first_action: "2023-02-13T17:00:11+00:00"
last_action: "2023-03-24T15:57:40+00:00"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/9a708de7-9de3-447a-8481-8c744d946f4c"
source_url: "ftp://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/SessionInformation/LegislativeMeasures.txt"
source_hash: "28c95f7f3b2f9504226eaf4b80b989f3f2094a48042617fae15ed9eb476d4c10"
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 254 (2023) — AN ACT TO ELIMINATE WRITE-IN CANDIDATES IN ELECTIONS; TO AMEND ELECTION PROCEDURES; AND TO AMEND THE LAW CONCERNING ELECTION.

## Version chain

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

1. **Act 305** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/Acts/FTPDocument?path=%2FACTS%2F2023R%2FPublic%2F&file=305.pdf&ddBienniumSession=2023%2F2023R)
2. **SB 254** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.arkleg.state.ar.us/assembly/2023/2023R/Bills/SB254.pdf)

## Votes

- Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. — **85–3** (pass) · lower
- Read the third time and passed. — **18–3** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Crowell — primary (person)
- Schulz — 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)
- Pilkington — cosponsor (person)
- Puryear — cosponsor (person)
- R. Scott Richardson — cosponsor (person)
- Richmond — cosponsor (person)
- Rose — cosponsor (person)
- Rye — cosponsor (person)
- S. Meeks — 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.

- **2023-02-13T17:00:11+00:00** Filed `introduction`
- **2023-02-13T19:18:50+00:00** Read first time, rules suspended, read second time, referred to STATE AGENCIES & GOVT'L AFFAIRS-SENATE `reading-1, referral-committee`
- **2023-02-21T19:38:14+00:00** Returned by the Committee, with the recommendation that it Do Pass `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-02-22T20:31:17+00:00** Read the third time and passed. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-02-22T20:31:40+00:00** Ordered immediately transmitted to the House.
- **2023-02-22T20:53:30+00:00** RECEIVED FROM THE SENATE
- **2023-02-22T22:34:52+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`
- **2023-03-08T18:26:07+00:00** Returned by the Committee Do Pass `committee-passage`
- **2023-03-14T19:44:43+00:00** Read the third time and passed and ordered transmitted to the Senate. `passage, reading-3`
- **2023-03-14T19:44:49+00:00** Returned To the Senate as passed.
- **2023-03-14T21:47:19+00:00** Returned from the House as passed.
- **2023-03-14T21:47:24+00:00** ORDERED ENROLLED
- **2023-03-15T13:26:37+00:00** Reported correctly enrolled and ordered delivered to the Governor.
- **2023-03-15T13:26:40+00:00** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-03-24T15:57:40+00:00** Notification that SB254 is now Act 305 `executive-signature`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/9a708de7-9de3-447a-8481-8c744d946f4c`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Arkansas legislature records).