A newly formed group asked the Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday to disqualify an anti-casino ballot measure that Secretary of State John Thurston approved Wednesday.
In a petition filed with the court, the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee (ACCC) claims canvassers fraudulently collected signatures for a constitutional amendment that would repeal a Pope County casino license.
The filing marked the latest round of litigation in a five-year struggle to get a casino built near Russellville.
Thurston said Wednesday that Local Voters in Charge, the group supporting the proposed amendment, had met the requirements to appear on the November ballot.
ACCC was established Thursday and claims Local Voters in Charge violated state law by paying canvassers based on the number of signatures collected.
ACCC asked Arkansas’ highest court to compel Thurston to remove the anti-casino amendment from the ballot because of what the group considered the “failure to to comply with Arkansas law on numerous grounds during the canvassing process.”
Local Voters in Charge hired out-of-state residents to collect signatures, failed to register and certify paid canvassers and fraudulently induced signatures, according to the petition. It also references issues with foundational elements of the proposed amendment, such as its title and text.
The group filing the petition includes Jennifer McGill and Nick Patel of Russellville, Dover Mayor Roger Lee and Cherokee Nation Businesses. The Arkansas Racing Commission awarded the Pope County casino license to Cherokee Nation Entertainment, an affiliated company, in late June.
McGill and Cherokee Nation Businesses have ties to Legends Resort and Casino, an entity that was stripped of Arkansas’ fourth and final casino license last year.
McGill also chaired a different group that formed in May in opposition to the proposed anti-casino ballot initiative called Investing in Arkansas, which Cherokee Nation Businesses donated to.
“We have said from the beginning that the group pushing this casino amendment has lied to Arkansas voters about what it will really do, which is rob Arkansas of economic growth at the expense of protecting out-of-state business interests,” said Natalie Ghidotti, Investing in Arkansas vice chair, after the petition’s filing.
Pope County Judge Ben Cross shared similar sentiments about the proposed constitutional amendment.
“While competing out-of-state casino interests have contributed over $9 million dollars in the past four years in attempts to stave off competition under the pretense of giving Arkansans local control, they are in fact, seeking to deprive our state of new tax revenue, quality jobs, and an entertainment destination,” he said.
Cross said he anticipates a number of legal challenges before November that will “expose a systemic pattern of abuse in the signature canvassing campaign and an overwhelming mountain of evidence to support such challenges.”
Hans Stiritz, spokesperson for Local Voters in Charge, said:
“It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that Cherokee Nation Businesses has filed a lawsuit that seeks to silence the voices of 116,000 Arkansas voters who want something that could not be more reasonable: a statewide vote to give local voters the final say on whether a casino should be built in their community, or not.”
Proposed constitutional amendments require 90,704 signatures from 50 counties to qualify for the ballot. Local Voters in Charge submitted more than 162,000 signatures from all 75 counties on the submission deadline of July 5.
On Wednesday, Thurston announced his staff verified no less than 116,200 signatures in support of the anti-casino initiative. In addition to repealing the Pope County license, the Local Voter Control of Casino Gambling Amendment would require that any new casino built in the state be approved in a countywide special election before a license can be issued.
Here’s the certification of sufficiency for the proposed amendment from Local Voters in Charge.
Allegations
In addition to the allegations of fraud, the ACCC petition also outlines the process that allowed canvassers to collect signatures and notes Local Voters in Charge was solely funded by an out-of-state casino operator, Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Choctaw Nation, a rejected applicant for the Pope County casino license, operates a business in Pocola, Oklahoma, just across the border from Fort Smith, Arkansas. Financial records show Choctaw Nation donated $5.3 million to Local Voters in Charge.
ACCC alleges Local Voters in Charge used that money, in part, to entice canvassers to collect more signatures, which the petitioners say is a violation of state law and renders the signatures invalid. The petition referred to $100 bonuses for 100 signatures, additional money to “close out a county” and gift cards and other prices in exchange for a number of signatures.
“[Local Voters in Charge] also placed canvassers in ‘time out’ if they did not meet certain minimum signature requirements, which provides another example of conditioning their compensation, in part, on the collection of a specific number of signatures,” ACCC wrote in its petition.
The petition says all signatures that were collected by canvassers who were offered or received additional pay cannot be counted.
ACCC also alleges Local Voters in Charge failed to certify paid canvassers, hired residents in other states to collect signatures and had canvassers who fraudulently induced signatures by sharing false statements.
The petition contends canvassers wrongfully said the proposed amendment is neither for or against casinos, creates a casino in Pope County, is about local control, allows local communities to determine whether they can have a casino, will not disturb current casinos and that the petition creates a casino in Pulaski County.
A press release from ACCC linked to three videos of apparent canvassers asking residents to sign their petitions. The videos appear to indicate canvassers telling people the proposed amendment would create a casino in Little Rock and that “it is basically for casinos.”
Additional allegations in the petition claim that the popular name and ballot title “fail the test” by not informing potential voters what the measure is capable of, including interfering with “significant contracts” and that taxpayers will be liable for violations of the U.S. and state constitutions.
“The popular name and ballot title have a plethora of other errors detailed above,” the petition reads. “The voters should understand the consequences of their votes, but this popular name and ballot title fall far short.”
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com. Follow Arkansas Advocate on Facebook and X.
