State seeks to block order requiring date change for Senate District 26 special election

The office of Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin is asking the Arkansas Supreme Court for a stay of a lower court ruling that mandated a March 3, 2026, date for the Senate District 26 special election.

Franklin County resident Colt Shelby on Oct. 6 filed a lawsuit with the Pulaski County Circuit Court to seek an earlier date for a special election in the Senate District 26 seat left vacant with the Sept. 2 passing of Sen. Gary Stubblefield, R-Branch. The lawsuit lists Gov. Sarah Sanders and Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester as defendants.

Senate District 26 includes parts of Franklin, Johnson, Logan and Sebastian counties. Towns in the large legislative district include Barling, Booneville, Charleston, Clarksville, Greenwood, Lamar, Lavaca, Ozark and Paris.

Gov. Sarah Sanders set the primary election for March 3, 2026, with the special general election date set for June 9. In her election call, Sanders declared that it is “impracticable or unduly burdensome” to hold an election within 150 days of the declared vacancy in the district seat.

Circuit Court Judge Patricia James ruled for Shelby on Oct. 22.

“Based on the undisputed testimony presented during the hearing, an earlier more practicable date is available,” James noted in an eight-page ruling. “To allow the special election to take place after the conclusion of a legislative session would indeed result in an infringement of a constitutional right based on the fundamental principle of ‘no taxation without representation.’”

In a request for stay filed Nov. 5, Noah Watson, deputy solicitor general with Griffin, said James’ ruling “does not even account for all the statutory requirements or any real-world logistics.”

“Without a stay, the results from an election held on an illegal, judicially imposed timeline could face legal challenges, potentially voiding the election results and nullifying every vote that was cast,” Watson wrote and added later in the filing. “The circuit court’s order thus allotted at most 132 days to hold the special primary and special election, even though the statutory timelines discussed above require at least 192 days from the start of candidate filing, which began Nov. 3, 2025.”

Jennifer Waymack Standerfer, the attorney representing Shelby, said her response to Watson’s motion to seek a stay would come when she filed it with the court.

“We’re so grateful that the whole state feels invested in Senate District 26’s fight for representation, and I’m thrilled that Arkansans are reading legal arguments and thinking for themselves,” Standerfer said. “But right now I owe the Arkansas Supreme Court a response, and I’m going to respond to this question directly to the court when I file my response.”

The District 26 election has taken on added significance with the Senate district including the proposed site in Franklin County for a state prison. Sanders and other state officials announced Oct. 31, 2024, that the state had purchased land north of Charleston in Franklin County to build the prison. The cost for the 815 acres was $2.9 million.

The effort to build the prison has generated opposition from Franklin County residents and Arkansas legislators, with Sen. Stubblefield a leader of the anti-prison effort before his death. The Arkansas Senate failed to advance a funding bill for a new state prison late in the recent regular session. The $750 million funding measure failed five times to get a 75% vote from senators.

Sanders also lost a ruling on a special election to fill a vacancy in House District 70. Pulaski County Circuit Court Judge Shawn Johnson ruled Oct. 31 that Sanders must move the special general election date for House District 70 to March 3, 2026, from June 9 as the governor previously ordered.

The Democratic Party of Arkansas on Thursday (Nov. 6) announced actions to press Sanders to set a new District 70 date in accordance with the court ruling.

“Almost a week ago, the governor and secretary of state were ordered to move up the date for the special election in House District 70,” Arkansas Democratic Party Chair Marcus Jones said in a statement. “They have taken no action and are openly defying the court order. Today, our legal team filed a motion demanding that Sanders and Jester follow the law or be held in contempt of court.”