Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has agreed to move up the dates for two special elections, the governor said in a statement Sunday.
This year, two judges have ruled against her in separate but similar special election cases. Both said she must hold special elections sooner than she wanted.
“While I object to this ruling,” she said in a press release, “I will comply with the court’s order.”
The new date for the elections is March 3, 2026, with a primary on January 6 of the same year. The March date matches what both communities requested in legal filings, and timelines set forth by judges.
In September, two state legislative seats became vacant. The death of Sen. Gary Stubblefield left Senate District 26 in northwest Arkansas vacant. House District 70, in central Arkansas, is vacant after Rep. Carlton Wing became the head of Arkansas PBS.
In Arkansas, the governor sets election dates to fill a vacancy. The governor must schedule the date within 150 days.
Sanders set the District 26 election for the same day as the November midterms, saying she wanted to save taxpayer money. She pulled back the date to June 9, 2026, and gave District 70 the same timeline.
This means residents in both communities could go hundreds of days without representation. Members of both communities filed separate lawsuits say the delay violates their rights.
Both pointed to the 2026 fiscal session. This is a biennial legislative meeting to pass the state's budgets. The session begins in April, before the June election date. The March date gives them representation in 2026.
Sanders says she hopes to appeal the judges’ decision, saying:
“The court has ruled that I must set special election dates that would give overseas military members insufficient time to vote, violating Arkansas law and potentially invalidating the entire election.”
