A Pulaski County judge on Tuesday dismissed the third attempt by state Rep. Jim Sorvillo, R- Little Rock, to prevent Democrat Ashley Hudson from assuming office following her 24-vote win in last month's elections.
The decision to dismiss the case came from Circuit Judge Mackie Pierce, who added that he was dismissing the case "with prejudice," meaning the lawsuit cannot be refiled.
Sorvillo had a similar lawsuit dismissed by another judge on the court last month, prompting Sorvillo to appeal and then suddenly drop his initial lawsuit.
Sorvillo, a three-term incumbent, claims that an error that led election workers in Pulaski County to mistakenly count as many as 32 disqualified ballots -- more than Hudson's margin of victory -- had hopelessly tainted the results. Hudson, an attorney, has countered that the ballots were legally cast and were unlikely to change the result anyways because of the likelihood that at least some of them went to Sorvillo.
After having his first lawsuit dismissed, Sorvillo filed a complaint with the Arkansas Claims Commission, seeking to block Hudson from assuming office and instead have a new election scheduled. That case has been set for a hearing Dec. 22.
With that claim pending, Sorvillo filed a second lawsuit seeking to block Gov. Asa Hutchinson and Secretary of State John Thurston from taking any steps to formalize Hudson's victory. Attorneys for Hutchinson and Thurston, both Republicans, sought to dismiss the case, arguing that Sorvillo lacked standing and had waited too long to file the second lawsuit.
At a hearing Tuesday Pierce agreed, and appeared frustrated with Sorvillo's request that he intervene at this point.
"I don't think I have jurisdiction in this matter whatsoever," Pierce said.