A Pulaski County circuit judge says a special election must happen sooner. Judge Shawn Johnson issued a ruling Friday in a case over a vacant House seat.
House District 70 has no representation after Republican Rep. Carlton Wing stepped down to lead Arkansas PBS. His district covers about 30,000 voters in North Little Rock and greater Pulaski County.
Under state law, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is required to declare a vacancy, then schedule an election for the next 150 days. She can wait longer if doing so is "unduly burdensome.” Sanders set the special election for June 2026, far longer than 150 days. Her timeline means District 70 has no voice in the 2026 fiscal session where lawmakers set the state budget.
Several district residents sued Sanders and Secretary of State Cole Jester, asking for a closer election. At a hearing Tuesday, plaintiffs argued the delay means “taxation without representation.”
At the hearing, county election officials said a sooner date would be doable, but key deadlines could be missed.
The state honed in on this admission, calling election employees at the Secretary of State's Office to testify. They said June was the only date both soon and "impracticable” and “impossible.”
In an 18-page ruling, Johnson disagreed.
“The impact that the current June 9, 2026 election will have on Petitioners is real, actual, and definite.”
He said he was “not convinced” that June was the best date. He pointed to other special elections following the same timeline the suit requested, though he did concede “it would undoubtedly, be difficult and stressful,” for election workers.
He set the election for March 3. Ballots go out through the mail to overseas voters November 27.
Last week, Pulaski County Circuit Judge Patricia James made the same decision in a similar lawsuit. After the death of Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield, a west Arkansas district is unrepresented. The judge told the governor her initial timeline was too long, and she needed to move the date sooner.
