A Franklin County voter has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Secretary of State Cole Jester over Sanders’ decision to delay an election to fill a vacant state Senate seat until after the Legislature’s spring 2026 fiscal session.

Some think the unusual timing of the special election is related to the governor’s efforts to win funding for a new 3,000-bed mega-prison that she hopes to build in Franklin County and which residents of the county largely oppose. The former senator from Senate District 26, Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R-Branch), was against the prison and repeatedly helped block funding for it in the 2025 legislative session. Prison opponents suspect Sanders wants to avoid holding an election to fill Stubblefield’s seat until after the upcoming session

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