Arkansas Government and Politics

 Arkansas is governed under a constitution adopted in 1874, as amended. Four earlier
 constitutions had been adopted in 1836, 1861, 1864, and 1868. An amendment to the
 constitution may be proposed by the state legislature, by a constitutional convention, or
 by initiative. To be ratified an amendment must be approved by a majority of the people
 voting on the issue in an election.

 
 The chief executive of Arkansas is a governor, who is popularly elected to a four-year term
 and who may serve a maximum of two consecutive terms. The same is true of the lieutenant
 governor, who succeeds the governor should the latter resign, die, or be removed from office.
 Other elected state officers include the secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer,
 auditor, and land commissioner.

 
 The bicameral Arkansas General Assembly is composed of a senate and a house of
 representatives. The 35 members of the senate serve four-year terms, and the 100 members
 of the house serve two-year terms. State senators are limited to two terms in office and
 state representatives are limited to three terms.

 
 Arkansas's highest court, the Supreme Court, is composed of seven justices elected to serve
 eight-year terms. The intermediate court of appeals has six judges, also elected to eight-
year terms. There are 32 chancery court judges serving four-year terms, 33 circuit court
 judges (six-year terms), and 33 chancery probate court judges (four-year terms).

 Arkansas has 75 counties, each of which is administered by a county judge. Other elected
 county officials include the treasurer, assessor, sheriff, clerk, coroner, surveyor, and
 collector.

 
 Arkansas elects two senators and four representatives to the Congress of the United States.
 The state has six electoral votes in presidential elections.

 
 From the Reconstruction period through the mid-1960s Arkansas was, in both state and
 national elections, a Democratic party stronghold. In 1966, however, a Republican,
 Winthrop Rockefeller, won the state governorship. In 1968 George C. Wallace (American
 Independent) became the first non-Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state in
 almost 100 years. Since then, the Republican and Democratic parties have each
 experienced success in presidential, congressional, and gubernatorial races, but the
 Democrats have consistently controlled both houses of the state legislature. As governor
 of Arkansas (1979-1981, 1983-1993), Bill Clinton dominated state politics. In 1992 he was
 elected 42nd president of the United States. As the nation's 104th Congress took office in
 1995, Democrats held both of the state's seats in the U.S. Senate, while the Republican and
 Democratic parties each held two of the state's four seats in the U.S. House of
 Representatives. A Democrat was governor.

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page