None of the five Democratic candidates in the special election for state House District 36 met the deadline to file reports showing how much money their campaigns raised and spent in June.
Four candidates filed their financial reports by Wednesday, two days late. A fifth report remains missing.
Financial reports detailing campaign fundraising and expenditures for June — the first month of the race — were due Monday to the secretary of state’s office. State election law requires that candidates who raise or spend more than $500 in a special election must file reports.
Several of the campaigns attributed their tardiness in filing the reports to issues with the state’s online filing system, which was started in 2017. Candidates Roderick Talley and Denise En-nett said they were unable to download the forms for the June statements until Tuesday, after the deadline.
The secretary of state’s office, however, attributed the filing issues to the candidates waiting until the day of the deadline to register their accounts with the online system.
Kerry Moody, a spokesman for the office, said candidates have to create accounts with the online system and then take hard copies of their signature cards to the elections office at the state Capitol before they can access the e-filing system. None of the candidates registered their accounts before Monday, she said.
Moody said the needed forms for June were initially unavailable because the accounts were created in July. Forms for June were added once candidates reported the problem, she said.
Candidates also reported their own problems with filing their reports on time.
Philip Hood originally filed a report by the deadline, but it erroneously stated that he did not raise or spend any money. His amended report was filed Wednesday, showing that he had raised $6,500 and spent about half of it.
“I didn’t have all of my information, but I knew the report had to be in,” Hood said, explaining the error.
Russell Williams III, a 19-year-old student at Philander Smith College who is making his first run for office, filed his report Tuesday.
“There was no particular major reason; I was just getting used to the formatting,” Williams said.
The only candidate whose report was still not filed by Wednesday afternoon was Darrell Stephens, a businessman who ran last year in a primary challenge against Charles Blake, the former representative from House District 36.
Stephens said his campaign manager was “working on” filing the report late Wednesday. He was not sure how much money he had raised.
Of the four candidates who filed reports, Ennett led the way in fundraising, with $12,563 in reported contributions. She reported spending $5,490, mostly on advertising and a June fundraiser.
Behind Ennett, Hood reported raising $6,500 and spending $3,481; Williams reported raising $3,535 and spending $1,505; and Talley reported raising $1,285 and spending $1,272.
Talley was the only candidate who qualified for the ballot by soliciting signatures, meaning he did not have to pay a $1,500 filing fee with the Democratic Party.
The Democratic primary for the special election will be held Aug. 6 with a possible runoff Sept. 3. No Republicans filed for the election, which was called after Blake resigned from the seat in May to join the staff of Little Rock Mayor Frank Scott Jr.
The vacant seat represents part of Little Rock and a portion of southern Pulaski County. Early voting runs July 30-Aug. 2 and Aug. 5.