It was the only Deep South state carried by Lyndon Johnson in 1964, just following the passage of the Civil Rights Act, however, Democratic support did weaken after this.

In the early 21st century an initiative to restrict same-sex marriage passed by a 3:1 margin, although the United States Supreme Court overrode this in 2015 with its Obergefell v. Hodges decision.

[6] Since the late 19th century, Southern Democrats of Arkansas have traditionally had an overwhelming majority of registered voters in the state.

At that time, they consolidated their power and achieved effective disfranchisement of African Americans (and Republican) voters by passage of the Election Law of 1891 and a poll tax amendment in 1892, which also dropped many poor white Democrats from the rolls.

It set up a state election board and officials, putting power into the hands of the Democratic Party, rather than county workers.

In the 20th and 21st centuries, Arkansas Democrats have tended to be more conservative than their national counterparts, particularly in areas outside metropolitan Little Rock.

Historically Republicans in the state were based in the northwestern areas, long a supporter of the Unionist cause in the Civil War.

Planters and major slaveholders lived in the Delta area along the Mississippi River and tended to ally with the Democratic Party.

A 1950s migrant from New York, he was joined by Republican Maurice "Footsie" Britt, a World War II hero elected as lieutenant governor.

Unlike in other parts of the South at the time, Rockefeller's coalition was based on "progressive Democrats and newly enfranchised black voters."

It was 1978 before Ed Bethune was elected to Congress as the second Republican from the state; he served three terms from central Arkansas.

While the rest of the state used to be more Democratic, since the late 20th century Republicans have attracted members from the Little Rock suburbs, the southwest (especially Texarkana), and the northeast around Jonesboro.

Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, a Democrat, was elected President of the United States candidate in 1992 and was reelected in 1996.

)[10] Even while supporting Republican candidates for president, Arkansas voters continued to favor Democrats for statewide offices.

As in the national government of the United States, political power in Arkansas is divided into three main branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial.

The seats are usually on opposite sides of the county to serve residents within easier traveling distances.

Although travel conditions have improved, there are few efforts to eliminate the two-seat arrangement where it exists, since the county seat is a source of pride (and jobs) to the cities involved.

[a] Article 19 (Miscellaneous Provisions), Item 1 in the Arkansas Constitution is entitled "Atheists disqualified from holding office or testifying as witness," and states that "No person who denies the being of a God shall hold any office in the civil departments of this State, nor be competent to testify as a witness in any Court."

In 1961, the United States Supreme Court in Torcaso v. Watkins (1961), held that a similar requirement in Maryland was unenforceable because it violated the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the US Constitution.

[11][12][13] Arkansas also elects the lieutenant governor and several cabinet-level positions: secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer, auditor, and land commissioner.

[16] Following the 2014 elections, an amendment to the Arkansas Constitution was approved that expanded legislative term limits to 16 years total in either the Senate and House of Representatives.

At the turn of the century, the legislature passed a new constitution and laws disenfranchising most African Americans and establishing Jim Crow.

[17] Arkansas's legislature is controlled by the Republican Party, which gained the majority in both houses following the 2012 general election.

The twelve judges of the Arkansas Court of Appeals are elected from judicial districts to renewable six-year terms.