Opponents of a proposed ban on a planned casino in Arkansas made a plea to the state Supreme Court on Thursday to remove the measure from the November ballot. Cherokee Nation Entertainment, in partnership with a newly established affiliated group, initiated a lawsuit contesting the proposed constitutional amendment shortly after the secretary of state’s office confirmed its eligibility for the ballot. The lawsuit asserts that the campaign behind the ballot measure, financed by the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, violated various laws related to gathering signatures and criticized the ballot wording as being significantly flawed.
Dover Mayor Roger Lee, acting as a representative for the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee, emphasized the importance of revealing what he described as a deliberate effort to breach Arkansas canvassing laws and mislead voters. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Secretary of State John Thurston, the defendant in the case, chose not to provide any comments, and a group known as Local Voters in Charge denounced the lawsuit, pledging to oppose the challenge.
The lawsuit alleges that paid canvassers hired by the campaign were compensated based on the number of signatures collected, contravening state regulations, and that misinformation about the measure was spread during the signature-gathering process. Additionally, it claims that the initiative campaign did not properly register and verify paid canvassers. Despite these allegations, Thurston’s office confirmed on Wednesday that Local Voters in Charge had submitted a sufficient amount of valid signatures from registered voters to qualify the measure for the ballot.
The proposed amendment aims to nullify the license awarded for a casino in Pope County, which has been entangled in legal disputes for several years. In 2018, voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing casinos to be established in four designated locations, with the Cherokee Nation Entertainment being granted the casino license for Pope County by the state Racing Commission in June.
