A troubling trend has taken hold in the Arkansas Legislature: lawmakers are increasingly avoiding accountability by simply not voting.
Rather than casting a clear “yes” or “no,” legislators can register a non-vote or vote “present,” thereby sidestepping controversial legislation. What was once occasional has quietly become common practice.
In response, Conduit for Commerce made a significant change in its 2025 Legislative Scorecard. For the first time, the scorecard includes a Missed Votes score, measuring how often lawmakers actually showed up to vote — and how often they did not.
Lawmakers miss votes for a wide range of reasons, including medical issues, family matters, prior commitments, political calculations, or other circumstances. Conduit does not attempt to determine why a legislator missed a vote. Instead, it publishes the data so constituents can evaluate the records for themselves.
That transparency matters, especially now.
Arkansas is in the middle of primary season, with early voting beginning February 17 and Election Day set for March 3. Campaign rhetoric has ramped up, and accusations about “missed votes” and “not showing up” have become common lines of attack.
Voters are often told they deserve a legislator who will “show up and fight for our values.” It’s a powerful message, but when used selectively against incumbents with established voting records, it can be misleading.
That dynamic is playing out in Senate District 28, where Senator Bryan King faces a primary challenge from Bobby Ballinger Jr. King is frequently criticized for not voting, both by his opponent and by his colleagues in the legislature.
There is some truth to the criticism. King does have a record of non-votes. When he is unsure about a bill, he has often chosen not to vote rather than automatically voting “yes.” In a legislature where voting “yes” is often the path of least resistance, that approach has made him an easy target.
But the data tells a more complete story.
Despite the attention focused on King, he is not the legislator with the highest missed-vote percentage. That title belongs to another Republican lawmaker — underscoring that non-voting is not unique to one senator or one district.
Conduit for Commerce analyzed all 135 legislators and ranked them by the percentage of votes they missed during the session.
Below is the combined House and Senate list, ranked from highest to lowest percentage of votes missed.
Combined Arkansas Legislators Ranked by % of Votes Missed (House and Senate combined)
35%
- Jon Milligan — 35% (House)
31%
- Bryan King — 31% (Senate)
29%
- Fred Allen (D) — 29% (House)
27%
- Lane Jean — 27% (House)
- Jeff Wardlaw — 27% (House)
26%
- Austin McCollum — 26% (House)
24%
- Kendra Moore — 24% (House)
- Brit McKenzie — 24% (House)
23%
- DeAnn Vaught — 23% (House)
- Brian S. Evans (Speaker) — 23% (House)
- Sonia Eubanks Barker — 23% (House)
- Kenneth Ferguson (D) — 23% (House)
- Mark Johnson — 23% (Senate)
22%
- Stephanie Flowers (D) — 22% (Senate)
21%
- Jay Richardson (D) — 21% (House)
20%
- Ryan A. Rose — 20% (House)
19%
- Alyssa Brown — 19% (House)
- Aaron Pilkington — 19% (House)
- Tara Shephard (D) — 19% (House)
18%
- Justin Gonzales — 18% (House)
- Dwight Tosh — 18% (House)
- Ron McNair — 18% (House)
- Clint Penzo — 18% (Senate)
17%
- Jimmy Gazaway — 17% (House)
- Rick McClure — 17% (House)
16%
- Matt Duffield — 16% (House)
- Cameron Cooper — 16% (House)
- RJ Hawk — 16% (House)
15%
- Robin Lundstrum — 15% (House)
- Wade Andrews — 15% (House)
- Stephen Meeks — 15% (House)
- Jon Eubanks — 15% (House)
- Bart Schulz — 15% (House)
- Jim Dotson — 15% (Senate)
- Scott Flippo — 15% (Senate)
14%
- Wayne Long — 14% (House)
- Mindy McAlindon — 14% (House)
- Lincoln Barnett (D) — 14% (House)
13%
- Rebecca Burkes — 13% (House)
- Julie Mayberry — 13% (House)
- Mark Perry (D) — 13% (House)
- Glenn Barnes (D) — 13% (House)
12%
- Bruce Cozart — 12% (House)
- Zack Gramlich — 12% (House)
- Cindy Crawford — 12% (House)
- Keith Brooks — 12% (House)
- Stephen Magie (D) — 12% (House)
- Denise Ennett (D) — 12% (House)
11%
- Richard Womack — 11% (House)
- Steve Unger — 11% (House)
- Randy Torres — 11% (House)
- Tony Furman — 11% (House)
- Marcus Richmond — 11% (House)
- Jonathan Dismang — 11% (Senate)
10–7%, 6–5%, 4%, 3–2%, 1%, and 0% (Perfect Attendance)
(full rankings published by Conduit for Commerce here)
The takeaway is clear: non-voting is no longer the exception. It is a legislature-wide habit that has been allowed to take root.
Missed votes are not accidental. They are a choice to avoid accountability, and voters deserve to see that choice plainly.
