On February 28, Arkansas State Senator Trent Garner did not present his SB 276, even though it was on the Committee agenda for the Senate State Agencies & Government Affairs.  This is the fifth time it was on the agenda but was not brought up.

The bill moves the primary for all office from May to March.  It also moves the petition deadline for a newly-qualifying party from January of the election year, to November of the year before the election.  Both deadlines are unconstitutional, based on precedents from federal court in Arkansas and many other states.  It is possible Senator Garner is trying to decide whether to create a deadline that might pass constitutional muster, and that is why he still hasn’t presented the bill.