Ho Chunk sues polling company
The tribe will sue Northstar after they failed to get enough valid signatures.
US.- Ho-Chunk Inc announced that they will sue the polling company Northstar Campaign Systems after they failed to get the signatures that they needed to place a referendum on the November 2016 ballot.
The Nebraska tribe, an economic development arm of the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska, had a project to build a short horse track, sports bar and simulcast wagering centre at the site of the former Atokad Downs. Ho-Chunk hired Northstar to gather the signatures they needed to make it to the ballot, but Secretary of State for Nebraska John Gale said that too many signatures were invalidated as well as people who signed it and were not registered to vote in the state. The 2016 petition needed at least 40.000 more signatures that the ones they actually managed to get.
Despite stating that they didn’t do anything wrong, the tribe decided to sue the polling company for more than US$1.2 million. The legal measure is based on the fact that Ho Chunk started a campaign after Northstar suggested that 57 percent of voters would support expanding gambling in the state. Scott Lautenbaugh, Northstar attorney, said that they’re planning on fighting the lawsuit and that they never guaranteed the results of the petition drive.
