Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) said Sunday she would comply with court orders to move two special elections for state legislature positions up from June to March, despite calling the orders "unlawful."
The special elections were overdue, since state law says they need to be held within 150 days of the vacancy.
Sen. Gary Stubblefield of Branch died and Rep. Carlton Wing of North Little Rock resigned to lead Arkansas PBS in September of last year, but Sanders used a clause in the law to go beyond 150 days when setting the special elections.
The clause says if it is “impracticable or unduly burdensome” to have an election within 150 days it is permissible to go beyond that time frame.
Sanders contended that she was saving taxpayers money by aligning them with existing elections and to allow enough time for absentee and military ballots to be returned.
While this was definitely true, there were other issues at play, including support for a $1 billion prison Sanders wants to build in Franklin County.
Sanders may have wanted the state legislature's makeup to stay the same because it would allow her to get the prison built; some candidates running in the special election would have opposed the effort.
At any rate, the move drew bipartisan criticism and lawsuits that resulted in the elections being moved up.
The state Democrat party, which was a plaintiff in the lawsuit in District 70, called the rulings “a huge win for democracy and for representation in Arkansas.”
“This proclamation achieves the goal of our lawsuit — to ensure the 30,000 Arkansans in House District 70 have representation,” DPA Chair retired Col. Marcus Jones said in the statement.
“Pulaski County election officials have previously confirmed they are ready and can assure a secure and fair election,” Jones said.
Both seats were vacated by Republicans and are likely to remain Republican, but the Democrat party still felt the need to get involved.
Sanders said that the March date with a January primary may violate the law regarding military voting, but would be in better compliance with the 150 day rule.
The June election dates would be more than double the 150 days permitted for a special election.
