Does an Arkansas city have to file a municipal-election filing-deadline ordinance with the county clerk?
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This page answers the general question as of 2014. Ezel answers yours: what it means for your facts, under current Arkansas law, with citations.
Plain-English summary
State Representative Jeremy Gillam asked the AG two questions: (1) does a city ordinance that changes filing deadlines for a municipal election need to be filed with the county clerk; and (2) if so, by when before the filing period.
AG Dustin McDaniel answered no to the first, which rendered the second moot.
The AG worked from the absence of any general state-law requirement that municipal ordinances be filed with county clerks. Cities pass ordinances all the time; the routine repository is the city's own records, not the county clerk's office. Some specific statutes do require filing of particular city ordinances with the county clerk (annexation orders, for example), but those are narrow exceptions tied to subjects where the county's involvement matters.
The AG read Gillam's question as specifically asking about ordinances under A.C.A. § 14-42-206(d), which authorizes a city's governing body to "enact an ordinance requiring independent candidates for municipal office to file petitions for nomination as independent candidates" within a timeframe earlier than the state default. The AG examined that subsection and confirmed it carries no filing-with-county-clerk requirement. The AG also referenced Op. Att'y Gen. 2006-108 (his immediate predecessor's opinion), which had reached the same conclusion: "there is no requirement, in subsection -206(d), that the ordinance establishing the earlier filing deadline be 'filed in the county clerk's office.'"
Because the first answer was no, the second question (timing of any such filing) had no purchase. There's no obligation to file, so there's no deadline for filing.
The practical consequence: a city that wants to require independent municipal candidates to file petitions earlier than the state default can do so by ordinance, without any obligation to coordinate the ordinance's adoption or its existence with the county clerk. The city is still subject to other ordinance-procedural rules (publication, recording in city records, etc.), but the county clerk is not in the chain.
Currency note
This opinion was issued in 2014. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.
Common questions
Where should an Arkansas city keep its election ordinances?
Under standard municipal practice, in the city's own ordinance book, with the city clerk. There's no statutory requirement to file with the county clerk for this category of ordinance.
What does A.C.A. § 14-42-206(d) actually authorize at the time of this opinion?
It authorizes a city or town's governing body to enact an ordinance requiring independent candidates for municipal office to file petitions for nomination within a timeframe earlier than the state default. The state default is set elsewhere in the election code; the section gives cities flexibility to compress the local filing window if they want longer to prepare ballots.
Why would an independent candidate care?
Because the filing deadline determines how long the candidate has to gather petition signatures and file the paperwork. An earlier deadline tightens that window. Independent candidates who don't know about a local ordinance shortening the deadline can miss the filing entirely.
How would a candidate find out about a local filing-deadline ordinance?
Through the city's published ordinances, the city clerk's office, or by checking with the local election commission. Because the ordinance does not have to be filed with the county clerk, the county clerk may not have it on file. Candidates should check directly with the city.
Could the legislature require county-clerk filing in the future?
Yes. The opinion only addresses the law as it stood. The legislature could amend § 14-42-206(d) (or pass a related statute) to add a filing-with-county-clerk requirement. As of this opinion, no such requirement existed.
What about general ordinances on other topics, are any required to be filed with the county clerk?
Some are, by specific statutes (e.g., annexation orders). Election ordinances are not. The AG's answer is narrow to the question Gillam asked.
Background and statutory framework
A.C.A. § 14-42-206(d)(1)(A) (Supp. 2013) authorizes a city or town governing body to enact an ordinance requiring independent candidates for municipal office to file petitions for nomination within a specified timeframe.
There is no companion statute requiring this category of ordinance to be filed with the county clerk. The AG examined the subsection itself and found no such requirement, and confirmed his conclusion by reference to Op. Att'y Gen. 2006-108.
The general rule for municipal ordinances is that they take effect through their own ordinance-procedure (introduction, reading, adoption, publication, recording in the city's ordinance book). Filing with the county is the exception, not the rule, and is statutorily prescribed only for specific subjects.
Citations
- A.C.A. § 14-42-206(d) (cities may set earlier filing deadlines for independent municipal candidates)
- A.C.A. § 14-42-206(d)(1)(A) (Supp. 2013) (operative subsection)
- Op. Att'y Gen. 2006-108 (prior AG opinion reaching same conclusion)
Source
Original opinion text
Opinion No. 2014-061
July 25, 2014
The Honorable Jeremy Gillam
State Representative
1825 Missile Base Road
Judsonia, Arkansas 72081-9169
Dear Representative Gillam:
You have asked for my opinion on the following two questions:
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Does a city ordinance that changes filing deadlines for a municipal election need to be filed with the county clerk?
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If so, is there a set time frame or number of days that an ordinance must be filed prior to the filing period for municipal elections?
RESPONSE
No state law requires, as a general matter, that municipal ordinances be filed with the county clerk. Nor does any state law require that municipal ordinances specifically relating to municipal elections be filed with the county clerk. Accordingly, the answer to your first question is "no," in my opinion.
Given that your second question refers to the filing period for municipal elections, I assume that the sort of ordinance you have in mind is the one described in A.C.A. § 14-42-206(d). Under that subsection, the governing body of a city or town "may enact an ordinance requiring independent candidates for municipal office to file petitions for nomination as independent candidates" within a certain timeframe. As my immediate predecessor noted, "there is no requirement," in subsection -206(d), "that the ordinance establishing the earlier filing deadline be 'filed in the county clerk's office.'" Because the answer to your first question is "no," your second question is moot.
Assistant Attorney General Ryan Owsley prepared this opinion, which I hereby approve.
Attorney General
DM/RO:cyh
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