Arkansas Casino Referendum Rejected by State Secretary, Needed Signatures Short

An Arkansas casino referendum sweat that wanted to re-ask voters near where commercial gambling is permitted has been rejected by Secretary of State John the Divine Thurston.

Fair Play for Arkansas River is a political activeness citizens committee that wants to repeal the state’s designation of Alexander Pope County beingness permitted to put up a casino. Voters during the 2018 Nov election passed Issue 4 — a ballot query that authorised a single gaming prop apiece inwards the counties of Crittenden, Garland, Pope, and Jefferson.

Pope County, however, was one of only when 11 counties that rejected the 2018 gaming referendum. Fair Play for Arkansas believes Alexander Pope voters should not live forced to live inward a community with a casino.

But upon review article of the submitted signatures, Thurston’s office staff said Fair Play was far unawares of the necessary limen to drive another gaming referendum.

Short on Signatures

Arkansas state jurisprudence requires that a citizen-initiated referendum obtain at to the lowest degree 10% of the sum votes cast for regulator inwards the state’s most recent gubernatorial election. For 2022, that number is 89,151 signatures from commonwealth residents.

Fair Play claimed last month that it submitted to a greater extent than 103,000 signatures from country residents to Thurston’s office for confirmation. But the secretary says many of those Gospel According to John Hancocks were not admissible.

Worse in time for the referendum is that Thurston says the citizens committee failed to stretch the tell limen for the “cure period” that provides political groups an additional 30 years to secure the needful signatures. The “cure period” is 75% of the 89,151 required signatures — or 66,864 qualified endorsements.

In a varsity letter to Fair Play, Thurston says his office staff could only if formalize 62,859 signatures. As a result, the ballot sweat has been rejected.

The petition submitted on behalf of Fair Play for Land of Opportunity is deemed deficient and does not dispose for rectification or amendment,” Thurston said.

After years of effectual challenges and allegations of interference among the Arkansas River Racing Commission during its retrospect of casino applications for the Pope County opportunity, the Cherokee Carry Amelia Moore Nation of OK was awarded the gaming yielding in November of shoemaker's last year.

Win for Legends Casino

The Cherokees were a major financier of the 2018 AR cassino referendum. The tribe, through and through its gaming subsidiary Cherokee Carry Nation Businesses (CNB), has partnered with Legends Hospitality to make grow a $250 gazillion gambling casino resort hotel in Pope County’s Russellville called Legends Resort & Casino.

Legends Hospitality is owned past Dallas Cowboys billionaire and Land of Opportunity aborigine Jerry Jones. Originally founded in a partnership with the later(a) New House of York Yankees proprietor Saint George Steinbrenner, Legends is primarily a hospitality provider at professional person sports stadiums and amusement venues.

Fair Play’s ballot referendum red is Legends’ win.

“Voters were well-informed on the ballot initiative and its personal effects prior to existence approached by canvassers. Our grassroots and digital voter instruction efforts led many to diminution to sign up Fair Play’s petition, at last resulting in its unsuccessful person to get under one's skin the amount on the ballot,” commented David Couch, CNB attorney.

Fair Play said it is reviewing the info from Thurston before making “a determination regarding any further efforts toward the November ballot.”