Arkansas group hits signature requirement for casino vote amendment

A group in Arkansas named Local Voters in Charge has announced it has met the signature count requirement to get an amendment on the upcoming November ballot that would require local voters to approve any new casinos. 

In a press release the group shared on July 5, it was stated that 162,000 signatures were submitted to the office of Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston. The threshold required in Arkansas is 90,704. Proposed amendments must also submit a specified minimum number of signatures from at least 50 of Arkansas’ 75 counties, but the group stated it met this threshold in all 75 Arkansas counties.

The proposed amendment would require that any new casino has to be approved by voters in a countywide special election before a license can be issued.

Natalie Ghidotti, vice chair of a group opposed to the ballot measure, has said that the amendment is supported by a casino operator who was not awarded a casino license, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. 

“While sufficient signatures may have been turned in, this group, solely backed by a rejected out-of-state casino operator, the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, has spent the last several months lying to Arkansans about the true intent of this ballot initiative.”

Last month, the Arkansas Racing Commission awarded the state’s final casino license to Cherokee Nation Entertainment. Cherokee Nation Entertainment had been working for the last several years to build a casino in Pope County in Arkansas but up until now was typically met with resistance.

The Cherokee Nation’s bid involves building a $225m casino on its property in Russellville, Arkansas, which the Nation purchased for $35m.

Kirk Geller

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