Arkansas asks high court to intervene in voter ID

LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas is asking the state’s Supreme Court to compel a judge to decide whether to block enforcement of a voter ID law.

In a motion filed Thursday, Secretary of State Mark Martin asked the court to require Pulaski County Circuit Judge Alice Gray to rule whether she’ll grant a motion to block the law’s enforcement in Arkansas’ May 22 primary.

The motion is part of a lawsuit filed by a voter who contends the law, enacted last year, circumvents a 2014 Arkansas Supreme Court ruling that struck down a previous voter ID measure.

Gray says she expects to rule

several days before April 6.

But Martin’s attorneys say a ruling is needed well before then because further delays could affect Arkansas’ ability to send out absentee ballots before the primary.

Magistrate denies bail for indicted lobbyist

BENTONVILLE — A U.S. magistrate in Missouri has denied bail for an Arkansas lobbyist indicted on conspiracy and bribery charges in connection to an alleged kickback scheme.

U.S. Magistrate David P. Rush ruled Thursday that Milton Cranford, who goes by the nickname Rusty, should remain jailed after prosecutors alleged Cranford was also involved in a murder-forhire plot. In denying bail, Rush said he found those allegations to be credible.

Cranford’s attorney, Nathan Garrett, called the allegations “absurd.”

Cranford has pleaded not guilty to the conspiracy and bribery charges. In court records, federal prosecutors alleged that Cranford tried to hire a felon to kill a Philadelphia-based lobbyist. Prosecutors say the felon was also an FBI informant.

The Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that no charges have been filed regarding the murder-for-hire allegations.