You can vote by absentee ballot in Arkansas due to coronavirus this November

LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas — Governor Asa Hutchinson announced Thursday during his daily coronavirus briefing that anybody in Arkansas could vote by absentee ballot in the November elections if they have a health concern related to COVID-19.

Hutchinson made this announcement after Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston said that current laws allow the ability to vote with an absentee ballot due to the pandemic.

In order to be eligible to vote with an absentee ballot in Arkansas, you must be registered to vote in the state and you must request the ballot from your local County Clerk.

Thurston said current laws states that a voter can request an absentee ballot if:

• You will be unavoidably absent from your polling site on Election Day, OR
• You will be unable to attend your polling site on election day due to illness or physical disability, OR
• You are a member of the Uniformed Services, merchant marines or the spouse or a dependent family member and are away from your polling location due to the member’s active duty status, OR
• A U.S. citizen whose residence is in Arkansas but is temporarily living outside the territorial limits of the United States.

RELATED: Coronavirus updates: 878 new cases, over 22,000 total in Arkansas

You have until October 5 to register for the November elections.