A circuit court judge in Pulaski County has ruled a special election must happen before date set by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield died on September 2, 2025. He represented District 26 in Northwest Arkansas. The district has been without representation in the Arkansas Senate since his death.
When a legislator dies or leaves office before their term is up the Governor must declare a vacancy to initiate special election proceedings. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders certified a vacancy for Senate District 26 on September 19.
State law says a special election must happen within 150 days of a vacancy unless the election would be “impracticable or unduly burdensome.”
Gov. Sanders initially set the election to coincide with the midterms in November 2026, over a full year after Stubblefield's death. Sanders moved the election to June after public outcry.
But next spring, Arkansas lawmakers will return to the Capitol for a fiscal legislative session. Under Sanders' timeline, District 26 would still be without representation during the session.
One item lawmakers will consider in this session is a funding package for a controversial prison in District 26. The funding package failed multiple times in the 2025 legislative session. Stubblefield was a critical ‘no’ vote when the package came to the Senate floor this year.
A District 26 resident named Colt Shelby filed a lawsuit against Gov. Sanders and Secretary of State Cole Jester. Shelby said delaying the special election beyond 150 days from the vacancy violates the state constitution.
At a hearing last week, Shelby asked a judge to move the election date up. Franklin County election employees said a sooner date would be challenging but achievable.
Publicly Gov. Sanders said the June date would be cheapest for taxpayers. Meanwhile, a spokeswoman for Secretary Cole Jester said a special election could cost $60,000. Though the taxpayer also has to pay for the ongoing lawsuit.
In court, lawyers for the state did not mention the cost. They called no witnesses, only making minor process arguments. Neither Sanders nor Jester appeared at the hearing.
Pulaski County Judge Patricia James sided with Shelby in her Wednesday ruling. In 8 pages, she said the county had proven it could meet the 150 day deadline, calling the county employee testimony: “uncontroverted.”
James also noted even in cases where a special election cannot be held within 150 days, state law requires the special election to be held as soon as possible after the 150-day mark.
Going through the fiscal session without a senator representing District 26 would “unconstitutionally impair” residents, James wrote.
James cautioned Gov. Sanders may be overstepping her power.
“There would be far-reaching ramifications if the Governor were allowed to deny duly elected representation for the citizens of the State of Arkansas and any action resulting in the denial of adequate representation for any Arkansas citizen conscience of this court.”
She set the new date “as soon as practicable after the one-hundred-fiftieth day following the occurrence of the vacancy.”
In a statement, a spokesman for Gov. Sanders told Little Rock Public Radio:
“Governor Sanders is confident that on appeal, the law clearly giving the Governor the authority to set special elections will be upheld and ultimately save taxpayer dollars and ensure the election is free, fair, and secure.”
While Shelby said, “justice was served.”
