Arkansas Supreme Court approves Issue 2 for ballot

The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that Issue 2, which gives voters the final on whether or not to open their community to casinos, will be on the November ballot.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Supreme Court (ASC) has ruled that Issue 2, which gives voters the final say on whether to open their community to casino gambling or not, will be on the November ballot.

This comes after the ASC ruled that votes for the casino amendment were a step closer to being counted on Election Day.

Now, votes cast in November for Issue 2 will be counted after the court ruled that the group pushing to block the casino amendment did not provide enough evidence.

“This is a great day for the people of Arkansas. We are one step closer to ensuring that local voters — not politicians and gambling lobbyists — have the final say on whether or not casinos are allowed in their hometowns,” said Hans Stiritz, spokesman for Local Voters in Charge. “Allowing local communities to determine their own future is a time-honored American value. Issue 2 keeps casinos from being forced on communities that vote against them.”

However, Natalie Ghidotti with Investing in Arkansas opposes the bill and said that Issue 2 does the complete opposite.

“The other side is saying it’s all about local control and they don’t want it, that couldn’t be further from the truth,” Ghidotti said. “There’s 12 of the 13 quorum court members, all five of the mayors in Pope County, people want this in Pope County, and I want Arkansans to know that.”

Thursday’s decision is one of two made by justices this week.

One lawsuit challenged the signatures turned into the secretary of state, the other focused on the firm hired to gather those signatures.

The court ruled in favor of issue two and its proponents in both cases.

If approved next month, Pope County would lose its casino license, and voters will have the final say on whether or not to bring a casino to their community.

Ghidotti says and their organization will continue to campaign to educate voters on the true meaning of issue two.

“We definitely have a lot of faith in our Arkansans to vote no on issue two, and that they’re going to see through what this is really about,” Ghidotti said.