An anomaly in Arkansas election law will require a special election to be held on January 1, 2008. It is virtually unheard of for any jurisdiction to ever hold a public election on a holiday. However, Arkansas law requires an election “run-off” (of this type) to be held exactly three weeks from the first election.

In this particular case, the two cities of Farmington and Prairie Grove, in northwest Arkansas, each voted to annex a particular subdivision. Since it is obvious that both cities can’t annex the particular area, the law provides that the voters in the area to be annexed should vote on which city to join. That type of election must be held exactly three weeks after the original election. Since the previous election was held on December 11, there is no escaping that the new election must be on January 1.