Last night Fred Smith became the fourth Green Party candidate to get elected to a state legislative seat in the US, and the second one in Arkansas.

State House – District 50 – General

35 of 35 Precincts Reporting – 100%

Name Party Votes Vote %

Smith, Fred Grn 2,905 100%

Hallum, Hudson Dem 0 0%

How did this happen? Just hours before polls closed in Arkansas a judge ordered that votes for Democrat Hudson Hallum NOT BE COUNTED. Hallum was convicted of conspiracy to commit election fraud, was forced to resign from the House and is ineligible to serve, but it was too late to remove his name from the ballot.

Ironically, Hallum held the seat that Fred Smith held two years ago, as a Democrat. Smith had resigned from office when charged with theft, but was later exonerated of that charge. Smith wanted his seat back but the Democrat slot on the ballot was taken so he approached the Green Party.

Further irony – the last Green Party candidate to get elected to a state legislative seat also won unopposed. In 2008, Richard Carroll wound up being the only name on the ballot when the Democrats removed their candidate after he had been charged with inappropriate sexual contact. Carroll served as a Green in office for a year before switching parties to the Democrats, but the Dems ran someone against Carroll in his own primary and defeated him in 2010.

Let’s hope Fred Smith stays a Green, and stays in the Arkansas State House!

Background stories:

Also see from Green Party Watch