Arkansas Casino Referendum Campaign Submits Signatures to State for Validation

Posted on: July 5, 2024, 12:41h. 

Last updated on: July 5, 2024, 12:41h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Commercial Gaming, Legislation, Politics.

The Arkansas casino referendum campaign called Local Voters in Charge today submitted more than 162,000 signatures to state Secretary John Thurston’s office for validation.

Arkansas casino referendum Pope County
Officials with Local Voters in Charge bring boxes full of Arkansans’ signatures to Secretary of State John Thurston’s office on Friday, July 5, 2024. The campaign is seeking to amend the Arkansas Constitution to require casino bids to come with local voter support in their targeted county before the project could be authorized. (Image: X)

Local Voters in Charge is seeking to disqualify Pope County for a commercial casino.

Statewide voters in 2018 passed a ballot referendum that amended the Arkansas Constitution to allow casinos in the counties of Crittenden, Garland, Jefferson, and Pope. The 2018 vote passed with 54% support, but Pope County was one of 11 counties among the 75 in the state that voted against the ballot question.

Local Voters in Charge seeks to again amend the state constitution to require that casino projects can only be authorized with local voter support through a special countywide election.

For the question to reach voters this November, Thurston’s office must validate a minimum of 90,704 signatures. The campaign must also garner half of the designated percentage of gubernatorial votes in at least 50 of the state’s counties.

Local Voters in Charge officials said today they’ve met those thresholds.

Signatures Submitted?

The morning after the July 4 holiday, Local Voters in Charge say Pope County residents are a step closer to having the independence from being forced to host a casino.

In record numbers, the people of Arkansas have supported our campaign to give local voters the final say on whether a casino should be built in their town or not,” said Local campaign member Hans Stiritz. “Some communities might want casinos, others might not, but nearly everyone agrees that it should be up to local voters to determine the character of the communities in which they live.”

During the 2018 referendum, nearly 61% of Pope County voters opposed the question of authorizing a single casino in each of the four counties. Come November, state voters could be asked if they support requiring any future casino to obtain local voter approval in a special countywide election before the Arkansas Racing Commission (ARC) could grant the project a gaming license.

Cherokee Plan

The Arkansas casino referendum is just another component of the ongoing legal saga surrounding the Pope County gaming concession. ARC recently ruled that its latest bidding round for the license fielded only one qualified bid. It came from Cherokee Nation Entertainment, a commercial entity owned by the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.

The Cherokees have proposed investing $300 million to build Legends Resort & Casino in Russellville. A bid that was deemed unqualified because it did not come with a letter of support from Pope County Judge Ben Cross or a resolution of support from the Pope County Quorum Court this week filed a lawsuit on allegations that Cross and the quorum court used coercive tactics to make sure only the Cherokee plan qualified.

The plaintiff — Gulfside Casino Partnership based in Mississippi — proposed a $405 development, also in Russellville, called River Valley Casino Resort.

Casino.org has heard from many readers located in Pope County that the Cherokees have been steadfast community partners and is the preferred resort developer of those in favor of bringing a casino to Russellville. The Cherokees in May formed a political action committee in Arkansas that the tribe will use to fund the opposition campaign to the Local Voters in Charge crusade.