Bill on March primary election clears House

Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, presents House Bill 1006 Wednesday, May 27, 2015.
Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, presents House Bill 1006 Wednesday, May 27, 2015.

The Arkansas House on Wednesday passed a bill that would shift Arkansas' primary election from May to March, aligning it with other Southern states in a so-called SEC primary.

The House voted 56-32 in favor of House Bill 1006, though an emergency clause attached to it failed to pass on first vote and on reconsideration.

HB1006 sponsor Rep. Andy Davis, R-Little Rock, asked members to support the change, noting that Arkansas typically doesn't have a say in the presidential primary because the election comes so late in the season.

"By the time we vote in the end of May, the presidential primary is over," he said. "I myself have wanted to vote for candidates who are no longer in the race."

The vote came after some debate on the House floor. Rep. Nate Bell, R-Mena, and others raised concerns including the elongation of the election season, campaigning during the holiday season, winter weather affecting voters getting to the polls, and educating voters and candidates about the change.

Bell said the bill has "anti-family overtones" for the additional commitments it will place on candidates running for office and he said it's unlikely to spur economic development, as some proponents have suggested increased campaign spending might.

Bell said the issue should be scrutinized further before a decision is made.

"I've told you all, I don't think the idea of moving the primary to March is a bad idea," he said. "But it needs to be a thoughtful, deliberate, well-thought out process where the people affected have time to study it carefully, the experts on the situation have time to have significant input into the bill and, like my old Cherokee grandma used to say to me, 'If it's a good idea now, it'll still be a good idea later.'"

Davis acknowledged the failure of the emergency clause, which would put the law into effect immediately if it were signed by the governor, could make the timing of the election season "a little messy."

"That's why we need to go ahead and implement it sooner than later," Davis said before the second vote, though he dismissed a suggestion from Bell that the lack of an emergency clause would cause the bill to be repealed.

House Speaker Jeremy Gillam, R-Judsonia, said it's still up in the air what the impact of not having an emergency clause will be, calling Bell's suggestion it would result in repeal a "new point" that will have to be studied.

"We're not sure," he said. "That was the first that anybody had really broached that."

Gillam said it's possible the emergency clause will be considered again.

It initially appeared the emergency clause had passed on the second vote with 68 ayes. But Bell moved to sound the ballot, which resulted in striking two votes from members who weren't in their seats.

A similar bill failed to clear a Senate committee Tuesday, though its sponsor said he may ask the full chamber to consider it anyway, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

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