The bill amends Arkansas law to establish a runoff election process for candidates running for the Senate and the House of Representatives. Specifically, if no candidate receives a majority of the votes in a general election, the two candidates with the highest number of votes will advance to a special runoff election held four weeks later. The bill also stipulates that if there is a tie in the runoff election, the winner will be determined by the State Board of Election Commissioners through a public drawing. Additionally, the bill clarifies that this runoff provision does not apply to certain high-level offices, including Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and various judicial positions.

In the amendments, the term "tie vote" is replaced with "runoff election," and specific language is added to outline the conditions under which a runoff election is triggered. The bill also expands the list of offices for which votes are published after elections to include the Commissioner of State Lands. Overall, the legislation aims to enhance the electoral process by ensuring that legislative candidates are elected with a clear majority.

Statutes affected:
HB 1648: 7-5-704, 7-5-705(a)