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HB 1878

Cremation; Oklahoma Quicker Release of a Body for Cremation Act of 2025; effective date.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Mark Lepak

Requires county election boards to provide early voting sites in every qualifying city (pop >15,000) if the county clerk isn’t offering early voting there.

Second Reading referred to Rules
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · HB 1878

Summary — HB 1878 (Arkansas, 95th General Assembly, 2025) — Enacted as Act 978

Purpose

HB 1878 requires county boards of election commissioners to provide early voting access in population centers. The bill is intended to ensure residents of larger cities within a county have an early voting polling site when the county clerk is not administering early voting.

Key provisions

  • Amends Arkansas Code § 7-5-418(b)(1)(A).
  • Requires each county board of election commissioners to hold early voting at a polling site in every city in the county that:
    • Has a population greater than 15,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census; and
    • Is a place where the county clerk is not conducting early voting.
  • Authorizes (but does not require) the county board to establish additional early voting sites outside the county clerk’s office on any of the designated early voting days.
  • Conforms procedural language for how/where early voting must be held; does not specify additional administrative requirements (hours, staffing, exact site locations).

Who is affected

  • County boards of election commissioners — must provide an early voting site in qualifying cities when the county clerk is not doing so.
  • County clerks — their existing early voting operation affects whether the county board must add sites.
  • Residents of cities with population >15,000 (per most recent decennial census) — gain guaranteed access to an early voting polling site administered by the county board if the county clerk is not offering early voting there.
  • Municipalities with population under the threshold are not mandated sites under this provision.

Fiscal impact

  • Fiscal Services Division (Arkansas Bureau of Legislative Research) reports no additional costs identified. Analysis lists the Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners and Secretary of State’s office as bases for assumptions. (Fiscal Impact Statement dated 4/8/2025.)

Legislative and enactment timeline

  • Filed: 2025-01-16
  • Multiple committee referrals and floor amendments during March–April 2025.
  • Passed both chambers (with procedural complexities recorded on 2025-04-16; some votes were expunged and re-taken).
  • Enrolled and transmitted to Governor; approved by Governor (Act 978). (Legislative history entries show enrollment and governor approval in March–April 2025.)

Related/Notes

  • Companion: SB 285.
  • The source materials supplied included text fragments from other states (Illinois LRB language concerning county real estate transfer taxes and credit-card payment rules). Those Illinois provisions are not part of Arkansas HB 1878; the enacted Arkansas Act 978 addresses early voting access as summarized above.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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