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Bland v. Mahan
Citations: 245 Ark. 450; 432 S.W.2d 827; 1968 Ark. LEXIS 1224Docket: 4740
Court: Supreme Court of Arkansas; October 21, 1968; Arkansas; State Supreme Court
Conway County Clerk Jack Bland, Attorney General Joe Purcell, and members of the Conway County Board of Election Commissioners appeal a judgment declaring Ark. Stat. Ann. 3-841 (Supp. 1967) invalid. This statute required independent candidates to pay a filing fee equivalent to the highest primary ballot fee set by political parties for the same office, which, in this case, was $800 for the Sheriff’s office. Jerry Mahan, an independent candidate who qualified after initially seeking nomination as a Republican, paid the fee under protest and filed suit for its return. The court examined the constitutional validity of Ark. Stat. Ann. 3-841, emphasizing that candidates may qualify for public office in three ways: as a party nominee, an independent candidate through petitions, or as a write-in candidate without fees. The statute in question was critiqued for not establishing a clear standard or formula for determining the fees for independent candidates, thus delegating legislative authority improperly. The court referenced a precedent, Crowly v. Thornbrough, where an act was invalidated for similar reasons of unconstitutional delegation. Ultimately, the court ruled Ark. Stat. Ann. 3-841 invalid, affirming the lower court’s decision to return the $800 to Mahan, as the statute constituted an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority.