The Arkansas Supreme Court denied Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ as well as Secretary of State Cole Jester’s request for a late special election date for two vacant seats. Sanders sought to stay two lower court orders requiring her to set earlier special election dates for the two legislative vacancies. Jester sought to consolidate the two cases. That didn't work out well for them.
KATV reports:
The two lawsuits both demand the governor comply with a state law requiring special election dates be set within 150 days after a vacancy opens, after she set elections far beyond that deadline.
The law allows an exception if it is “impracticable” to hold a special election within that timeline, but Pulaski County Circuit Court judges didn’t think that was the case when they ruled against the governor in both lawsuits—one filed by a Franklin County resident regarding the late State Sen. Gary Stubblefield’s seat, the other filed by the Democratic Party of Arkansas concerning the House District 70 seat, vacated by State Rep. Carlton Wing October 1.
The governor had set the special election for both seats on June 9—280 days after Stubblefield's seat became vacant, 252 days after Wing’s.
Both circuit court judges ordered that Sanders set the elections sooner—in the case of House District 70, on March 3—but the governor says that expedited timeline would violate other laws regulating the election process, which her attorneys say cannot legally be done in less than 192 days, given candidate filing, election commission notices, runoffs, absentee ballots, and so forth.
...
The governor appealed both lawsuits to the Arkansas Supreme Court and asked that the lower court orders be paused, but Wednesday, the Supreme Court rejected that request.
So even though the governor hasn’t technically lost, by the time her appeal is resolved at the Supreme Court, it will likely be long past the special election dates demanded in the lower court orders—so she will have to comply.
Foiled AGAIN!
“I am disappointed by the rulings and will continue to vigorously defend the Governor and Secretary of State,” a spokesman for Attorney General Tim Griffin said, according to the Arkansas Advocate. Griffin’s office represents Sanders and Jester in both lawsuits.
We hope that Sarah Huckabee Sanders continues to have shitty days. After all, she signed a bill weakening child labor laws, and that tells you how pro-life she really is. That's just one crappy thing she's done as Governor of Arkansas. There are so many to choose from!
