Judge orders March 3 for House District 70 special election date

A Pulaski County Circuit Court judge ruled Friday (Oct. 31) that Gov. Sarah Sanders must move the special general election date for a vacancy in House District 70 to March 3, 2026 from June 9, 2026 as the governor previously ordered.

In his 18-page order, Judge Shawn Johnson said that March 3rd was the “soonest practicable date” on which the special election could be held.

“Regardless of any hypothetical or theoretical analyses that the Court and the parties engage in, the impact that the current June 9, 2026 election will have on Petitioners is real, actual, and definite. The Court is not convinced by the State’s argument that allowing the maximum amount of time under UOCAVA—a statute guiding federal elections—brings about June 9, 2026 as the earliest practicable date for the involved county officials to conduct a special election,” Johnson wrote.

“Importantly, the statutory text provides that the question does not turn on the most practicable date, but the soonest practicable date. Here, while June 9, 2026 may be practicable, it is not the soonest practicable date,” he added. “The dates contained in the Proclamation must be revised to reflect that the special election for House District 70 shall be held on March 3, 2026 as it is the soonest practicable date on which the special election might be held.”

Attorney General Tim Griffin, who represents Sanders and another defendant in the case, Secretary of State Cole Jester, said he intends to appeal the decision.

The case stems from Rep. Carlton Wing, R-North Little Rock, vacating the House District 70 seat after he was appointed to lead Arkansas PBS in October. The law calls for the governor to set a special election schedule after consulting with the two major political parties, both of whom called for special primaries.

Sanders set the special primary date for March 3, 2026 and a special general election date for June 9, 2026. In a lawsuit filed by the Democratic Party of Arkansas and four residents in the district, they contended the district would be without representation in the state’s fiscal session, which starts next April.

The House District 70 case has ramifications for another special election in Senate District 26, which lost its representation when Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch, passed away in early September.

Sanders had initially set a special election calendar for that seat that would have pushed the date for the special general election to November 2026, but she reversed that decision and moved up the special primary to March 3 and the special general election to June 9, the same as House District 70.

Arkansas law says a special election is to be held “as soon as possible after the vacancy occurs” but no more than 150 days later unless the governor determines it is “impracticable or unduly burdensome.”

A different Pulaski County Judge overseeing the Senate District 26 lawsuit has also ruled that Sanders’ date for a special election in Senate District 26 violated the constitutional rights of residents in the district and ordered an earlier election date to be set. That ruling is also under appeal.

The lawsuit filed by Franklin County resident Colt Shelby has asked the court to set the special general election date for Dec. 9, 2025.