Arkansas

Arkansas voters approved Issue 1, the Citizens Only Voting Amendment, on 3 November 2026. It was one of five citizen-only voting measures that passed that day, Ballotpedia's results on 4 November show. The General Assembly referred the measure, HJR 1018, to the ballot in April 2025. It rewrites Article 3, Section 1 of the state constitution to say that only a US citizen who meets an elector's qualifications may vote, and that anyone else may not vote in a state or local election.

Arkansas has required US citizenship to vote in state and local elections since voters approved Amendment 8 in 1920, according to the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture's voter guide. Opponents called the change wording only; sponsors said it sets a ceiling, not a floor, on who may vote.

The state also matters beyond its ballot. The Senate confirmed John Thomas Shepherd to the federal court for the Western District of Arkansas by 53-46 on 14 April 2026. A factory in Camden, Arkansas builds Patriot PAC-3 interceptors, about 650 a year for all buyers, which limits how fast Gulf states can restock.