In 2011, two
special elections were held for the
Arkansas General Assembly. These elections were called to fill vacancies in the
Arkansas House of Representatives, Districts 24 and 54.
How vacancies are filled
If there is a vacancy in the Arkansas General Assembly, the Governor must call for a special election to fill the vacancy. The election must be called by the Governor without delay.[1] For all special elections in the Senate, the county that first established the district is responsible for conducting the election.[2] If the special election is to fill a House seat, the County Board of Election Commissioners representing the vacant district conducts the election.[3] All special elections must be held on the second Tuesday of the month, unless the second Tuesday of the month falls on a legal holiday or is in June during an even-numbered year.[4]
Partisan breakdown
The current partisan breakdown of the Senate is as follows:
The current partisan breakdown of the House is as follows:
Special elections
March 8, 2011
 Arkansas House District 24 | |
|---|
Republican candidate for District 24, Keith Crass, died shortly before the election. Despite his passing, he was elected to the seat. Attorney General Dustin McDaniel concluded that term-limited incumbent Rick Saunders (D) could remain in office, but Saunders decided to resign his position. Nominees were selected by party convention.[1]
 Democratic Candidate:[2]
-
 Republican Candidate:
|
|
July 12, 2011
| Arkansas House District 54 | |
|---|
Fred Smith (D) was convicted of theft for failing to repay a school district a duplicate payment of over $29,000. Smith has resigned, but has promised to appeal the decision.[4] A special election was held to replace him on July 12, 2011.[5]
- Republican Candidate:
-
- Democratic Candidate:
-
 Independent Candidate:
-
Controversies
The Arkansas Board of Election Commissioners sent monitors to observe the July 12 special election. The decision to send the monitor is part of an ongoing investigation into allegations made by Democratic primary candidate Kim Felker. Felker claims that she received an offer to illegally obtain absentee votes, an offer she refused. Felker was defeated in the primary by eight votes, but lost the absentee vote 69-401. Felker also reported several irregularities at the Turrel polling site. Hudson Hallum said that he observed no irregularities in the primary, but had no objection to the monitors. He also noted that the "offer," as recorded on Felker's answering machine, did not appear to offer anything illegal.[7][8] The man now known to have left the message, Leroy Grant, said that he only intended to connect Felker with voters interested in voting for her.[9]
In addition, state Republicans filed an ethics complaint against Hallum for $50,000 in campaign expenses that were not itemized in the campaign's finance report. Hallum's campaign called the irregularity an "oversight" and said they sent the completed report on Monday as soon as they realized the mistake. The Hallum campaign argued that the ethics complaint was simply a distraction.[9] |
|
See also
References
- ↑ Today's TVH, "Ark. gov. sets special election for House seat," December 18, 2010
- ↑ Tolbert Report, "Special Elections – Filing Ends for One As Voting Begins for Another," Tuesday, March 1st, 2011
- ↑ Arkansas Special Election Results, District 24
- ↑ Arkansasmatters.com, "Arkansas State Rep. Fred Smith Resigns," January 26, 2011
- ↑ Arkansasmatters.com, "Special Election in District 54," February 14, 2011
- ↑ Today's TVH, "Hudson Hallum wins special election for E. Ark. House seat" July 12, 2011
- ↑ Arkansas News, "Authorities investigating East Ark. primary, monitors requested," July 4, 2011
- ↑ Arkansas News, "State to send monitors to observe East Arkansas election," July 6, 2011
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 My FOX Memphis, "Arkansas Election Riddled with Controversy," July 12, 2011
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