Crumbly asks court to block primary certification

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - An Arkansas senator who lost his re-election bid in Tuesday's primary is asking a federal court to prevent state election officials from certifying the election results while judges consider his redistricting lawsuit.

State Sen. Jack Crumbly on Wednesday asked a panel of federal judges to prevent Secretary of State Mark Martin from accepting any certification in the Democratic primary for Senate District 24. Crumbly lost the primary to state Rep. Keith Ingram Tuesday.

Crumbly and a group of east Arkansas residents are suing the state Board of Apportionment and claim the board intentionally lowered the black vote in his district. Crumbly is black and Ingram is white.

Three federal judges denied an attempt to postpone Tuesday's primary while they consider Crumbly's lawsuit. No Republican is running for the seat.

(Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)