Court Asked to Disqualify Arkansas Casino Measure

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Opponents of a proposal to block a planned casino in Arkansas have requested that the state Supreme Court disqualify the measure from the November ballot. The legal challenge, initiated by Cherokee Nation Entertainment and an affiliated group, came a day after election officials confirmed the proposal had garnered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.

The lawsuit, filed on Thursday, accuses the campaign supporting the ballot measure—funded by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma—of violating several state laws related to signature gathering. It also criticizes the wording of the proposed constitutional amendment as being flawed.

“Arkansans must be made aware of this deliberate scheme to openly violate Arkansas laws regarding canvassing and to mislead and confuse voters,” said Dover Mayor Roger Lee, representing the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee, which has formed to oppose the measure.

The Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston, named as a defendant in the case, declined to comment on the lawsuit. However, the group Local Voters in Charge, which supports the ballot measure, expressed its disappointment and commitment to contesting the challenge.

“It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that Cherokee Nation Businesses has filed a lawsuit that seeks to silence the voices of 116,000 Arkansas voters who want a statewide vote to give local voters the final say on whether a casino should be built in their community,” said Hans Stiritz, spokesperson for Local Voters in Charge.

The lawsuit alleges that canvassers hired by the campaign were illegally compensated based on the number of signatures they collected and that they made false statements to gather support. It also claims that the initiative campaign did not properly register and certify its paid canvassers.

 

Despite these allegations, Thurston’s office verified that the campaign had submitted more than enough valid signatures to place the measure on the ballot.

The proposed amendment aims to revoke the license granted for a casino in Pope County, which has been mired in legal disputes for years. Pope County was one of four locations approved for casino development under a 2018 constitutional amendment. Casinos have already been established in the other three locations. In June, the state Racing Commission awarded the casino license for Pope County to Cherokee Nation Entertainment.