- Arkansas
Senate Race « Dan Whitfield Press Release
July 02, 2020
Tom Cotton Opponent Moves Closer to Ballot Access
Independent Challenger Dan
Whitfield Says Arkansans Deserve a
Choice on Election Day
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., July 2, 2020
/PRNewswire/ -- Incumbent U.S. Junior
Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas)
successfully eliminated a Democratic
opponent in this year's race. But the
campaign by Independent challenger Dan
Whitfield has been building momentum
and has made significant progress
towards earning a spot on the ballot
to challenge Cotton on Nov. 3. On
Monday, the Eighth Court Circuit
assigned a case number for the appeal
in the ongoing battle for ballot
access in the Arkansas Senate
Race.
On June 24, U.S. District Judge
Kristine Baker denied a preliminary
injunction. The ruling allows
Independent Candidate Dan Whitfield to
move forward with the appeal process
and secure a spot on the November
ballot. The ruling stated, "The
Court concludes that the plaintiffs
have sufficiently demonstrated their
standing to pursue declaratory and
injunctive relief."
The issue of candidacy and ballot
access in Arkansas has unfolded
dramatically, if not quietly, over the
course of several months. In late 2019
a memo
written by Tom Cotton campaign
manager Brian Colas and
addressed to "Senator Cotton's Top
supporters" detailed a plan to hold
onto "damaging material" they
had gathered on the democratic
candidate and "release the information
after it was too late for anyone else
to enter the race."
The Democratic challenger Josh Mahony
dropped out of the race two hours
after having filed, leaving Cotton
without a major party opponent in what
is shaping up to be one of the most
important elections in American
history.
Mr. Whitfield, who reports a
significant following for his
grassroots campaign, holds that the
coronavirus outbreak had impacted the
ability of candidates to gain ballot
access. Whitfield was able to collect
6,514 signatures, of which 5,954 were
valid, while losing 60% of the
collection period due to Governor
Hutchinson's orders of the state
declaring a state emergency. These
orders of the state enacted social
distancing policies and banned
gatherings of 10 or more people.
Several significant "petition parties"
had been planned to achieve the
signature goals, which had to be
canceled due to the Governor's orders.
Still, the Whitfield achievement of
6,514 signatures obtained during a
very short collections window is
impressive, especially in that over
98% of all signatures were obtained
through unpaid volunteers, and not
from paid collectors.
Regarding the appeal, Mr. Whitfield
has stated "This is actually the best
possible outcome for the people of
Arkansas and our campaign. If Judge
Baker had granted the preliminary
injunction, the Secretary of State
would have appealed. With this ruling,
we get the opportunity to present our
case to the 8th Circuit and win our
ballot access without interference
from Secretary Thurston or the
Attorney General. They tried to claim
that orders from the state did not
directly affect our efforts, but the
fact is COVID-19 and the governor's
instructions did impact our ability to
get signatures. Judge Baker's ruling
states as much."
At the hearing conducted on May 27,
2020, the Secretary of State was
represented by several individuals
from the Attorney General's office who
argued the state's COVID-19 response
did not represent a challenge in
gathering the required signatures
despite the Governor's stay at home
orders, even suggesting that if the
campaign was serious it could have
spent upwards of $80,000 for paid
canvassers to collect signatures.
Local paid canvassing companies were
closed due to COVID-19.
Whitfield goes on to say, "It's
obvious that the people have had
enough, we will win our appeal, and
the people of Arkansas will have a
choice."
Judge Baker's ruling
states, "the Court determines that
the pandemic and the State's
response to it hindered Mr.
Whitfield(s) efforts to collect
successfully all qualifying
signatures…"
Secretary Thurston has been the
subject of several complaints and
lawsuits involving ballot access, many
of which were referenced in the
ruling. The lawsuits involved
candidates outside the Republican
party, which has led to questions of
attempted ballot and voter
suppression. Judge Baker's ruling also
noted "enjoining Secretary
Thurston from continued application
of the requirements plaintiffs argue
are unconstitutional is likely to
redress the injuries."
By preventing Secretary Thurston from
interfering any further in this case,
it all but assures Dan Whitfield
ballot access to run against Junior
Senator Cotton in November. The people
of Arkansas will have a choice.
Case Documentation: https://danwhitcongress.us/ballot-access