Can a county election commissioner in Arkansas urge someone to run for office, and do they have to recuse from running the election once that person becomes a candidate?

Plain-English summary

Representative Charlene Fite asked AG Leslie Rutledge three questions about Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-109, the statute that governs how county election commissioners may participate in campaigns. The triggering scenario was a county election commissioner who had encouraged or solicited someone to run for office in the same jurisdiction the commissioner served.

The AG concluded that section 7-4-109's prohibition on participating in a campaign attaches only to a candidate who is "listed on the ballot" or "a write-in candidate." That language draws the line at the candidate's formal qualification. Activity before that line is not "campaign" activity for the purpose of the statute.

So:

• A county election commissioner may recruit or encourage a candidate to run, as long as the encouragement happens before the candidate is listed on the ballot or qualifies as a write-in.
• The commissioner has no duty to recuse from election duties such as inputting election data, again so long as the commissioner did not participate in the actual campaign of a then-qualified candidate.
• The same statute does not reach "persons performing election coordinator duties." The AG was unaware of any analogous restriction applicable to election coordinators.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2018. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: What does Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-109(c)(2)(A) prohibit?
A: A county election commissioner shall not participate in the campaign of any candidate listed on a ballot or of a write-in candidate seeking election in the county that falls under the county board of election commissioners' jurisdiction. Subsection (c)(2)(B)(i) lists specific prohibited acts: managing a campaign, performing campaign labor, soliciting on behalf of a candidate, distributing campaign materials, assisting at rallies or parades, or displaying candidate signs on a vehicle.

Q: When does someone become a "candidate" for purposes of the statute?
A: When they are listed on the ballot, or when they qualify as a write-in candidate. The opinion noted that write-in candidacy requires timely filing of a notice of write-in candidacy, a political practices pledge, and an affidavit of eligibility under Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-205.

Q: Why did pre-filing recruitment fall outside the statute?
A: The AG read the statutory language to attach only to candidates as defined by the statute. Recruiting someone to consider running, before they take steps to be listed on the ballot or qualify as a write-in, is not yet campaign participation in the statutory sense.

Q: Does the commissioner have to recuse from administering the election once the recruited person actually becomes a candidate?
A: Not under § 7-4-109, per the AG, as long as the commissioner did not participate in that candidate's actual campaign. Election commissioners are not categorically barred from administering races involving candidates they personally encouraged to run earlier.

Q: What about "election coordinators"?
A: Section 7-4-109's language about campaign participation specifically targets county boards of election commissioners. The AG was unaware of any equivalent provision applicable to election coordinators (the term used in the question). So the same prohibition was not transferable to coordinators by analogy.

Q: Could a commissioner still run into trouble for ethics or recusal reasons outside § 7-4-109?
A: This opinion was scoped to § 7-4-109. The AG did not address other potential ethics provisions, county personnel rules, or general appearance-of-impropriety considerations that might counsel voluntary recusal. Anyone in this situation in 2026 should check current statutes, election rules, and any applicable codes of ethics.

Background and statutory framework

Section 7-4-109 sets qualifications and conduct rules for state and county commissioners, election officials, poll workers, and certified election monitors. The campaign-participation prohibition in subsection (c)(2)(A) is a guardrail against an election administrator running campaigns inside the jurisdiction they administer.

The statute's deliberate phrasing, "candidate listed on a ballot" or "a write-in candidate," matters here. The legislature could have written a broader prohibition reaching pre-filing political activity, but instead drew the line at a clear, observable event: the candidate's formal status. The AG's reading respects that line.

The opinion also distinguished the ordinary statutory roles. Election commissioners and election coordinators are not the same office, and the campaign-participation prohibition speaks to the former, not the latter.

Citations and references

Statutes:

• Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-109 (qualifications and conduct rules for election officials)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-109(c)(2)(A) (no campaign participation by county election commissioners)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-109(c)(2)(B)(i) (specific prohibited acts)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-205 (write-in candidacy filing requirements)

Source

• Landing page: https://arkansasag.gov/divisions/opinions-foia/attorney-general-opinions-search/

Original opinion text

Opinion No. 2018-033
June 15, 2018

The Honorable Charlene Fite
State Representative
P.O. Box 7300
Van Buren, AR 72956-0262

Dear Representative Fite:

This is in response to your request for an opinion regarding Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-109, which establishes the qualifications for state and county commissioners, election officials, poll workers, and certified election monitors.

As background for your particular questions, you note that section 7-4-109 "sets out the ways in which a person serving on the county board of election commissioners is both allowed and not allowed to participate in the campaign of any candidate listed on a ballot within the county board of election commissioners' jurisdiction or authority." And you state that "[a] question of application arises when a person is a county election commissioner and has encouraged or solicited a candidate to run for office within the county board of election commissioners' jurisdiction or authority." You then ask:

1) Is a county election commissioner allowed to recruit or encourage a candidate to run for office within the jurisdiction that the election commissioner serves?
2) If the answer to Question 1 is "yes," does the county election commissioner have a duty to recuse or refrain from certain election activities, such as the input of election data impacting the candidate whom they have encouraged to run for office?
3) Do the responses to Questions 1 and 2 apply equally to persons performing election coordinator duties?

RESPONSE

I take it from the background you have provided for these questions that you are asking about the actions of a county election commissioner that occurred sometime prior to the time the candidate was listed on the ballot or qualified as a write-in candidate. With that understanding, the answer to your first question is "yes." A county election commissioner may recruit or encourage a candidate to run for office within that election commissioner's jurisdiction, if the commissioner's actions took place before the candidate was listed on the ballot or qualified as a write-in candidate. The answer to your second question is "no." Again, this is with the understanding that the election commissioner did not participate in the campaign of a candidate who was listed on the ballot or a write-in candidate.

With regard to your third question, the part of section 7-4-109 that is relevant to Questions 1 and 2 specifically concerns actions of county boards of election commissioners. It is limited to those officials and does not apply to persons performing election coordinator duties. I am unaware of any similar provision applicable to such persons.

DISCUSSION

Question 1: Is a county election commissioner allowed to recruit or encourage a candidate to run for office within the jurisdiction that the election commissioner serves?

As you have noted, the statute you ask about, Ark. Code Ann. § 7-4-109, addresses county election commissioners' participation in the campaign of candidates listed on the ballot. The statute provides, generally, that a county election commissioner "shall not participate in the campaign of any candidate listed on a ballot or of a write-in candidate seeking election in that county that falls under the county board of election commissioners' jurisdiction or authority." The statute specifically provides that a county election commissioner shall not "(a) Manage a campaign; (b) Perform labor for a campaign; (c) Solicit on behalf of a candidate or campaign; (d) Pass out or place handbills, signs, or other literature concerning a candidate's campaign; (e) Assist a candidate's campaign at a rally or parade; or (f) Display candidate placards or signs on an automobile."

By its express terms, therefore, section 7-4-109's prohibition on participating in a campaign relates to a candidate who is either 1) "listed on the ballot" or 2) "a write-in candidate."

In the background information for this question, you refer to an election commissioner who "has encouraged or solicited a candidate to run for office." I therefore take it you are asking about the actions of an election commissioner that occurred before the candidate was listed on the ballot or qualified as a write-in candidate. It is my opinion based on the plain language of section 7-4-109 that the election commissioner's actions do not run afoul of the statute in that circumstance, that is, where the commissioner recruited or encouraged the candidate to run for office before the candidate was listed on the ballot or qualified as a write-in candidate.

The answer to this question is therefore "yes."

Question 2: If the answer to Question 1 is "yes," does the county election commissioner have a duty to recuse or refrain from certain election activities, such as the input of election data impacting the candidate whom they have encouraged to run for office?

"No," in my opinion. This answer is based on the understanding that the election commissioner did not participate in the campaign of a candidate who was listed on the ballot or a write-in candidate.

Question 3: Do the responses to Questions 1 and 2 apply equally to persons performing election coordinator duties?

The part of section 7-4-109 that is relevant to Questions 1 and 2 specifically concerns actions of county boards of election commissioners. The statute is limited to those officials and does not apply to persons performing election coordinator duties. Accordingly, the responses to your first two questions do not relate to the actions of these particular election officials. And I am unaware of any similar provision applicable to persons performing election coordinator duties.

Sincerely,

Leslie Rutledge
Attorney General

Footnote: Persons who wish to be write-in candidates must timely file a notice of write-in candidacy, a political practices pledge, and an affidavit of eligibility. See Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-205 (Supp. 2017).