A 2013 Arkansas law requiring independent candidates for office to submit ballot-access petitions by March 1 has been declared unconstitutional.
The ruling of U.S. District Judge James Moody Jr. on Thursday applies to Mark Moore of Pea Ridge, who hopes to submit enough signatures on a petition to have his name placed on the Nov. 6 general election ballot as a candidate for lieutenant governor.
While the federal judge found that the law itself is unconstitutional, a spokesman for Secretary of State Mark Martin said Friday that Martin will review the ruling to see how it affects other candidates on a "case by case basis."
"Diligent candidates have not had any difficulty meeting the March 1 deadline, as hundreds of judicial and prosecutorial petitions have shown," spokesman Chris Powell said in an email.
