By Lewis Delavan
Arkansas News Bureau
LITTLE ROCK — Stone County Democrats will be allowed to vote Tuesday to select a nominee for sheriff, but a pending court decision could nullify the election.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Jay Moody today denied Republican nominee Russ Aiken’s request for a temporary restraining order to block Tuesday’s special election to resolve a tie in the Democratic primary for Stone County sheriff. Early voting is already under way.
Moody said he will rule later on the election’s legality. Earlier in the hearing, he denied a motion to dismiss the case.
Gov. Mike Beebe set the special election date on June 23 after receiving a request from the Democratic Party of Arkansas.
Sheriff Todd Hudspeth and Lance Bonds tied in a three-way primary election, and tied at 1,383 votes each in the runoff.
Aiken’s attorney, Charles Kester of Fayetteville, said state election law is very specific on when a special election can be set to select a party’s nominee, and the circumstances in the present case did not allow such an election.
“It is unambiguous,” he said.
The state Legislature adopted the specific language in 1997 after a federal court found that Arkansas’ law on setting special elections was too vague, Kester said. Specified reasons include death, serious illness, moving out of state or filing for another office, he said.
Assistant Attorney General Scott Richardson, representing Beebe, said the law is not intended to disenfranchise voters.
Aiken contends in the lawsuit that he would be the victim of an illegal election, both as a candidate and taxpayer. The Stone County Quorum Court appropriated $32,000 for the special Democratic election.
Richardson said Aiken wouldn’t suffer irreparable harm by allowing the election to go forward.
“If there’s any irreparable harm it, it’s the voters’ right to select a nominee,” he said.
Kester said elections are subject to reasonable regulation by states.
“States have the right and responsibility to enforce voting rules,” he said.
Stone County voters would not be disenfranchised, Kester said, because they could write in the name of any individual.
“People can vote in the general election however they want,” Kester said.
William Gregg Almand of Little Rock, attorney for Bonds, said most of the money for the election has already been spent, so an injunction would not save money. Almand said the Democratic candidates would suffer irreparable harm if the election were blocked.
After the Stone County Election Commission determined on June 11 the runoff was tied, chairman Bob Turner asked the candidates if they would consider a coin toss to settle the election. The sheriff objected to a coin toss, and the challenger said he’d need time to consider it, according to the panel’s minutes.
Moody said he could hold another hearing during the week of Aug. 9 if the parties request one, but he said he thought he had enough information to issue a ruling.
