Casino in Pope County: Arkansas Supreme Court rejects part of challenge to ballot measure
The court has yet to rule on a second part of the lawsuit challenging the wording of the ballot measure.
US.- The Arkansas Supreme Court has rejected part of a lawsuit challenging a November ballot measure that would revoke the licence issued for a planned casino in Pope County. Justices unanimously rejected claims that the measure should be disqualified for violating laws regarding signature gathering. The court has yet to rule on a second part of the lawsuit challenging the wording of the ballot measure.
Cherokee Nation Entertainment brought the lawsuit with an affiliated group, the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee. It was awarded the licence to build the casino in Pope County earlier this year. A special master appointed by the court disagreed with its claim that Local Voters in Charge, the group behind the measure, failed to submit required paperwork about its paid canvassers. The special master also rejected the lawsuit’s claim that the group violated a ban on paying canvassers per signature.
The Arkansas Supreme Court will release a ruling on whether or not the entirety of the ballot title and popular name is misleading.
The Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee said: “While disappointing, we still await the Court’s decision on the ballot title challenge. Issue 2 is misleading, and its sole purpose is to undo the will of Arkansas voters by eliminating the fourth casino licence they approved in 2018. Voters will see this as a bad deal — out-of-state billionaires trying to manipulate Arkansans into changing the constitution to benefit their own self-interest. If passed, Issue 2 would cost Arkansans thousands of jobs and much-needed tax revenue, including funding for our roads,” said Allison Burum, spokesperson for the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee.
Pope County was one of four sites where casinos were allowed to be built under a constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2018. Casinos have already been set up in the other three locations.
