Arkansas Governor

Employer / Organization

Arkansas

Next Election

Nov 06, 2022

Filing Window

Feb 22, 2022 - Mar 01, 2022

Description

The Governor of the State of Arkansas is an elected constitutional officer, the head of the executive branch, and the highest state office in Arkansas. The governor is popularly elected every four years by a plurality and is limited to two terms. The governor must deliver periodic (traditionally annual) addresses to the legislature. These "State of the State" speeches concern the condition of the state and includes the governor's recommendation for specific policies and steps. He is required to deliver one such address at the end of his official term. The governor has veto power over all legislative actions, including appropriation bills, concurrent orders and resolutions. In the case of orders and resolutions, the gubernatorial veto does not extend to an order to adjourn the legislature. Lawmakers may override a gubernatorial veto by a simple majority of both houses. The Arkansas Constitution grants the governor, "power to grant reprieves, commutations of sentence, and pardons, after conviction; and to remit fines and forfeitures, under such rules and regulations as shall be prescribed by law." This power does not extend to cases of treason or impeachment. In cases of treason, the governor may grant reprieves with the advice and consent of the Senate. The governor must inform the legislature each time he grants a pardon, along with his reason for doing so. Other duties and privileges of the office include: issuing and authorizing all commissions and grants made by the state; calling extraordinary sessions of the legislature; adjourning either regular or extraordinary sessions of the legislature when the two houses are unable to pass a concurrent resolution to adjourn; filling vacancies in the offices of Treasurer of State, Secretary of State, Auditor of State, and Attorney General, as well as any other offices that become vacant without an explicit legal course for filling the vacancy. The salary for this office is $86,890/year.

Application Guidelines
To file for this position follow these three steps: 1) Contact the Arkansas Secretary of State Election Division's office to confirm that your registered address qualifies you for the position you intend to run for, and that you meet other office specific qualifications. 2) Complete the required candidacy paperwork including a filing fee, campaign finance forms, candidate information, a political practice pledge and other office specific requirements. The type of forms to be submitted differ depending on the type of position you intend to run for. If you plan to run as member of a political party, you must submit a receipt from the political party acknowledging you are able to run as a member of that party. Independent candidates must submit petitions with a stipulated number of signatures (in place of a political party receipt). Once completed, file these papers with the Arkansas Secretary of State Election Division office. 3) Submit the filing paperwork with the stipulated amount of signatures during the filing window to the Arkansas Secretary of State Election Division's Office in order to appear on the ballot. The filing window runs from the 1st Monday in November until the 2nd Monday in November prior to the election. Listed below is the phone number of the Arkansas Secretary of State Election Division's office, which serves as the point of contact for any questions or concerns. Arkansas Elections Division: 1-800-482-1127. More information can be found here: https://www.sos.arkansas.gov/elections/Documents/2018ElectionCalendar.pdf