Can a 17-year-old in Arkansas file to run for justice of the peace if they will turn 18 before taking office?

Plain-English summary

Representative Jon S. Eubanks asked the AG, on behalf of a 17-year-old constituent interested in running for justice of the peace, two related questions:

1. Under Ark. Const. art. 7, § 41 and other Arkansas law, when does the constituent become a qualified elector?
2. Does the constituent have to be 18 at the date of filing, the primary, the general, or only at the time of taking office?

The AG's answers:

1. The constituent becomes a qualified elector when he turns 18, assuming he is also a U.S. citizen, not an unpardoned felon, and not adjudged mentally incompetent. The statutory definition in Ark. Code Ann. § 7-1-101(33) is circular, so the AG drew the qualifications from a constellation of constitutional provisions including art. 3, § 1(a), Amendments 8, 36, 39, 51, and 85, plus the federal Twenty-Sixth Amendment.
2. The constituent does not have to be 18 at the date of filing. Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-207(b) addresses this directly: a candidate's name shall not be placed on the ballot unless the candidate "is qualified and eligible at the time of filing … except if a person is not qualified to hold the office at the time of filing because of age alone, the name of the person shall be placed on the ballot as a candidate for the office if the person will qualify to hold the office at the time prescribed by law for taking office."

So a 17-year-old whose only barrier is age can file, run, win, and take office at age 18.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2019. 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

Q: What does "qualified elector" actually mean in Arkansas?
A: The statutory definition is circular: a qualified elector is someone who "holds the qualifications of an elector" and is registered. The actual qualifications come from a patchwork of constitutional provisions: at least 18 years old, U.S. citizen, lawfully registered under Amendment 51, not an unpardoned convicted felon (or whose conviction has been discharged), and not adjudicated mentally incompetent. The AG noted there is some tension between § 7-1-101(33), which suggests registration is a precondition, and Amendment 51 § 9(a), which suggests being a qualified elector is a precondition for registration.

Q: Why does justice of the peace require an "elector" qualification?
A: Article 7, § 41 of the Arkansas Constitution sets out the qualifications for justice of the peace. Being a qualified elector is part of that.

Q: What was the AG's authority for letting under-age candidates file?
A: Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-207(b). This is the controlling election-administration statute. It carves out an exception for candidates who are not yet old enough to hold the office: their names go on the ballot if they "will qualify to hold the office at the time prescribed by law for taking office."

Q: Does this rule apply to other Arkansas offices?
A: Section 7-5-207(b) is a general election-administration statute about ballot eligibility. It uses the words "any public office in this state at any election." So the rule applies broadly, though the qualifications for each particular office (set by constitution or statute) still control.

Q: When does someone "take office" as JP?
A: That date is set by the constitution or statute for each office. Justices of the peace serve terms set out in Arkansas's constitutional and statutory framework for quorum-court members. The relevant date for the AG's analysis is whatever date the candidate would take the seat, which has to be after he turns 18.

Q: What if the candidate turns 18 between filing and the election?
A: Same answer. The opinion treats the only barrier as age and asks whether the candidate will qualify on the date of taking office. If yes, the candidate is on the ballot.

Background and statutory framework

The web of authorities defining "qualified elector" runs across federal and state constitutional provisions plus a state statute:

• U.S. Const. amend. XXVI (voting age of 18)
• Ark. Const. art. 3, § 1(a) (qualifications of electors generally)
• Ark. Const. amend. 8 (women's suffrage)
• Ark. Const. amend. 36 (poll-tax issues)
• Ark. Const. amend. 39 (voter qualifications)
• Ark. Const. amend. 51 (voter registration framework, with § 9(a) listing preconditions to registration)
• Ark. Const. amend. 85 (residency and other qualifications)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 7-1-101(33) (statutory definition that cross-references the constitutional qualifications)

The AG noted that "elector" is synonymous with "voter" in Arkansas usage. Black's Law Dictionary equates them, and the Arkansas Supreme Court did the same in dicta in Henderson v. Gladish, 198 Ark. 217 (1939), and Wilson v. Luck, 203 Ark. 377 (1941). Willis v. Crumbly, 371 Ark. 517 (2007), is cited for the same proposition in modern usage.

For the ballot-filing question, Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-207(b) is the operative provision. The statute is, in the AG's words, "clear and unambiguous on this point": the only-barrier-is-age exception lets a candidate file when the qualifying date for the office is post-filing.

Citations

• U.S. Const. amend. XXVI
• Ark. Const. art. 3, § 1(a); art. 7, § 41
• Ark. Const. amends. 8, 36, 39, 51, 85
• Ark. Const. amend. 51, § 9(a)(3) (preconditions to registration)
• Ark. Code Ann. § 7-1-101(33) (statutory definition of "qualified elector")
• Ark. Code Ann. § 7-5-207(b) (only-barrier-is-age exception)
• Willis v. Crumbly, 371 Ark. 517, 268 S.W.3d 288 (2007)
• Wilson v. Luck, 203 Ark. 377, 156 S.W.2d 795 (1941)
• Henderson v. Gladish, 198 Ark. 217, 128 S.W.2d 257 (1939)

Source

• Landing page: https://arkansasag.gov/divisions/opinions-foia/attorney-general-opinions-search/

Original opinion text

Opinion No. 2019-037
July 30, 2019

The Honorable Jon S. Eubanks
State Representative
2543 Greasy Valley Road
Paris, AR 72855

Dear Representative Eubanks:

This is in response to your request for my opinion on behalf of a constituent. Your correspondence states that your constituent is currently seventeen (17) years old and is interested in running for Justice of the Peace. In this regard, you have posed the following questions:

1) Pursuant to Ark. Const. art. 7, § 41, and other applicable Arkansas law, when does my constituent become a qualified elector?
2) More specifically, does my constituent have to be eighteen years of age at the date of filing for office, the primary election, the general election, or at the time that he would be sworn into office to be eligible to serve as a Justice of the Peace?

RESPONSE

In response to your first question, your constituent will become a qualified elector, assuming that he is already a United States citizen, not an unpardoned felon, and not adjudged mentally incompetent, when he turns 18 years of age and is thus eligible to register to vote. Taking your second question to be asking whether your now-minor constituent has to already be 18 years of age to have his name placed on a ballot for election for the office of justice of the peace, in my opinion, the answer to this question is "no." State statute permits a minor person's name to be included on a ballot if the minor would be 18 years of age at the time of taking the office.

DISCUSSION

Question 1: Pursuant to Ark. Const. art. 7, § 41, and other applicable Arkansas law, when does my constituent become a qualified elector?

Under state statute, your constituent becomes a "qualified elector" when he "holds the qualifications of an elector and ... is registered pursuant to Arkansas Constitution, Amendment 51." But this statute provides a circular definition, as it does not actually specify any "qualifications of an elector." Neither are the referenced "qualifications" neatly defined in any one statute or constitutional provision.

A review of both state and federal constitutional provisions suggests that to be a "qualified elector" a person must be (1) at least 18 years old; (2) a United States citizen; (3) lawfully registered to vote pursuant to Amendment 51; (4) not an unpardoned convicted felon or one whose conviction has been discharged; and (5) not adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction as mentally incompetent.

But there is some question whether a person must actually be registered to vote in order to warrant the designation of a "qualified elector."

The statutory definition at section 7-1-101(33) clearly suggests that registration is a condition of being a "qualified elector." However, subsection 9(a) of Amendment 51 suggests just the obverse. That subsection enumerates being a "qualified elector" as one of the preconditions (along with not being an unpardoned felon or being mentally incompetent) to registering to vote.

Taking the foregoing in its totality, it is my opinion that your constituent will become a qualified elector, assuming beforehand that he is already a United States citizen, not an unpardoned felon, and not adjudged mentally incompetent, when he turns 18 years of age and is thus eligible to register to vote.

Question 2: More specifically, does my constituent have to be eighteen years of age at the date of filing for office, the primary election, the general election, or at the time that he would be sworn into office to be eligible to serve as a Justice of the Peace?

I take your second question to be asking whether your now-minor constituent has to already be 18 years of age to have his name placed on a ballot for election to the office of justice of the peace. Viewed in this light, and in my opinion, the answer to this question is "no." He would only need to be 18 years old (and otherwise be a qualified elector and qualify to hold the office) at the time he would take office. Section 7-5-207 of the Code is clear and unambiguous on this point. That section states, in pertinent part, that "[n]o person's name shall be placed upon the ballot as a candidate for any public office in this state at any election unless the person is qualified and eligible at the time of filing … except if a person is not qualified to hold the office at the time of filing because of age alone, the name of the person shall be placed on the ballot as a candidate for the office if the person will qualify to hold the office at the time prescribed by law for taking office."

In light of this statutory provision, it is my opinion that in order for your still-minor constituent to have his name eligible for the ballot for election for justice of the peace, he need only be 18 years old at the time he would take office.

Sincerely,

LESLIE RUTLEDGE
Attorney General