Senate votes to accept report that leaves Crumbly in the Senate
By Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Staff and Wire Reports
Sen. Jack Crumbly (right), D-Widener, talks Tuesday with his attorney, Leon Johnson, during a break in a Senate committee hearing in this March 2008 file photo.
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LITTLE ROCK — After stirring debate Thursday morning, the Arkansas Senate voted 19-12 to accept a committee majority’s report that retains Sen. Jack Crumbly, D-Widener, as a member of the Senate in the face of an accusation that he won the seat in an election marked by fraud.
A panel of legislators concluded that the 2006 election that sent Crumbly to the Senate was marked by “flagrant” fraud that should be investigated by federal and state officials. The same panel recommended that Crumbly keep his seat.
Senate President Jack Critcher, D-Batesville, opened the hearing with a warning to members that the meeting was not an attempt to retry the case that went before the legislative panel earlier this year.
Removing a sitting senator requires at least 24 votes among the 35 senators. The last time the Senate removed one of its own was in 1974 when it ousted a senator who had been convicted in a federal tax case.
Read tomorrow's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
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This article was published Thursday, June 12, 2008.
