Cordelia Smith-Johnson (left) says “hard-working taxpayers are being silenced” because a special election for House District 70 won’t be held until after the 2026 legislative fiscal session. She and retired Col. Marcus Jones, chair of the Democratic Party of Arkansas, speak at a press conference in Little Rock on Oct. 21, 2025. | Photo by Sonny Albarado/Arkansas Advocate
By ANTOINETTE GRAJEDA | Arkansas Advocate
The Democratic Party of Arkansas filed a lawsuit against the governor Tuesday seeking an earlier date for the House District 70 special election.
The HD 70 seat became vacant last month after North Little Rock Republican Rep. Carlton Wing resigned to become the new executive director and CEO of Arkansas PBS. On Oct. 10, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders scheduled special primary and general elections for March 3 and June 9, 2026, respectively, to select a new representative for the district, which includes portions of Pulaski County.
The dates are the same as the Senate District 26 special election, which is being challenged in a separate lawsuit. A Pulaski County circuit judge who held a hearing in that case last week said she would rule quickly.
Sam Dubke, a Sanders spokesperson, issued a statement Tuesday saying the governor, in consultation with election officials, “decided that lining up the District 70 special election with the District 26 special election is just common sense, saves taxpayer dollars, and ensures the election is free, fair, and secure.”
Arkansas Democrats argued in their petition, filed Tuesday in Pulaski County Circuit Court, that the election timeline leaves District 70 voters without representation during the legislative fiscal session that begins on April 8, 2026. They asked the court to direct Sanders to schedule the special election on March 3.
“Refusing to fill this seat, violating state statute and leaving those Arkansans without representation is simply wrong,” retired Col. Marcus Jones, the chair of the state Democratic Party, said at a press conference Tuesday in front of the Pulaski County Courthouse. “This suit is how we hold the governor and secretary of state accountable to the 30,000 Arkansans that live in House District 70.”
The lawsuit says the proclamation issued by Sanders setting the special election dates “is unlawful, exceeds her constitutional and statutory powers, and fails to discharge her mandatory duty to set a special election for House District 70.”
“Since the focus of the Fiscal Session is how to spend the people’s tax dollars, the Proclamation imposes taxation without representation,” the complaint states.
Four registered voters in District 70 are plaintiffs in the case — Cordelia Smith-Johnson, Scott Perkins, Janie Ginocchio and Julie Rhodes. Sherwood resident Smith-Johnson is also an announced candidate for the Democratic nomination in the special election. Ginocchio and Perkins are co-founders of a public policy and legislative analysis blog, Arkansas Bill Tracker. Plaintiffs are being represented by Kutak Rock LLP. Sanders and Secretary of State Cole Jester are the named defendants in the case.
“Right now voters are being denied a say in our state budget and denied representation in our statehouse. Good, hardworking taxpayers are being stymied, and that’s a problem,” Smith-Johnson said at Tuesday’s press conference.
Jones criticized Republicans who “rubberstamp” Sanders’ legislative agenda but said the lawsuit is nonpartisan. He called on Republican Party of Arkansas Chair Joseph Wood and any Republican candidates in the District 70 race to join in the lawsuit.
“I’m calling on you to do the right thing – to advocate for all citizens in House District 70,” Jones said. “Be on the right side of history.”
“Democrats are trying to cause chaos in a race they can’t win because Arkansans continue to reject their radical ideas,” Wood said in a statement Tuesday afternoon. “The RPA looks forward to a Republican winning big in District 70 as we continue our fight to take Arkansas to the top.”
State law requires a special election to be held within 150 days unless it is impractical or “unduly burdensome” to do so, which Sanders said it would be in her proclamation.
The governor made the same argument last month when selecting dates for a special election to fill the Senate District 26 seat left vacant by the death of Branch Republican Sen. Gary Stubblefield. After bipartisan criticism, Sanders revised the SD 26 special election to March 3 and June 9, the same dates she later selected for the HD 70 special election.
Of the 17 special elections that have been called between 2011 and 2022, nine were scheduled more than 150 days after the seat became vacant, that includes a 2014 election that was never officially scheduled because the new term would have expired four days after the special election. Stubblefield’s and Wing’s special elections are scheduled for 130 days and 102 days after the 150-day mark, respectively. The average number of days after the 150-day mark for the other occasions since 2011 is about 25 days, according to an unpublished Senate memo.
Senate District 26 includes parts of Franklin County where the state has proposed building a 3,000-bed prison. Lawmakers are expected to vote on funding for the controversial project during next year’s fiscal session.
Construction is expected to cost $825 million, according to preliminary estimates. Stubblefield was a vocal opponent of the prison and voted against a $750 million appropriations bill that failed five timesduring the 2025 legislative session.
Editor-in-chief Sonny Albarado contributed to this report.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
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