The Arkansas Supreme Court is expected to soon render its decision regarding a referendum seeking to repeal a commercial casino license earmarked for Pope County.
The state’s high court is slated to rule on an appeal from Cherokee Nation Entertainment challenging Issue 2. The referendum was certified in August by Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston for the Nov. 5 ballot.
The Arkansas Supreme Court agreed to expedite its review of the Cherokee allegations since Nov. 5 is fast approaching. Early voting in Missouri begins two weeks before Election Day.
The next round of briefs are due by Sept. 26, and the court says it will issue its ruling soon after reviewing each side’s claims.
Lawsuit Allegations
In June, Cherokee Nation Entertainment was deemed the winner of the Pope County casino license after it was the only bidder that met the Arkansas Racing Commission’s guidelines that submissions be accompanied by either a letter of support from Pope County Judge Ben Cross or a resolution of support from the Pope County Quorum Court. Pope County was designated for a commercial casino through a statewide referendum in 2018 that authorized gambling in four counties.
However, Pope County voters voted against the 2018 referendum. The county was one of only 11 among the 75 counties in the state that voted against the casino question.
Local Voters in Charge, a campaign funded by the Choctaw Nation, which is seeking to protect its tribal casinos in Eastern Oklahoma, wants to repeal the Pope casino concession. The campaign believes casinos should only be allowed in counties that want them.
The Cherokee Nation alleges that Local Voters in Charge violated a slew of canvassing laws in going about collecting signatures to put the gaming question before voters this fall. Through its own campaign, the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee, the Cherokees allege that Local Voters in Charge paid canvassers based on the number of signatures they collected, provided faulty registration addresses for workers, and didn’t properly certify canvassing captains.
Referendum Likely to Prevail
Eighth Judicial Circuit Court Judge Randy Wright, the special master appointed to the case to expedite the high court’s review, wrote in his “Report and Findings of Fact” based on the preliminary briefs that much of the plaintiff’s allegations are meritless.
Wright’s review concluded that less than 6,000 signatures that Thurston’s office certified should be disqualified because of canvassing errors. That still leaves the total number of valid signatures at 110,234 — far more than the 90,704 needed to place the referendum on the 2024 ballot.
If the referendum is defeated or rejected by the Arkansas Supreme Court, Cherokee Nation Entertainment would be cleared to proceed with its $300 million project in Russellville called Legends Resort & Casino.
The casino plan calls for a gaming floor measuring 50,000 square feet with 1,200 slot machines, 32 live dealer table games, and a sportsbook. A 200-room hotel would be complemented by several restaurants and bars, 15,000 square feet of meeting and conference space, a resort pool, and an outdoor music venue.
Recent polling reveals that just 42% of likely voters said they’ll vote in favor of Issue 2, while 28% said they would vote against it and 30% were undecided.
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