LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Supreme Court has denied part of a petition to block the counting of votes for a ballot measure designed to remove a casino license for Pope County and change the rules for future licenses.

The decision issued Monday blocked one part of the effort by Cherokee Nation Entertainment, LLC and lawyer Jennifer McGill. That group claimed that Secretary of State John Thurston should not count the votes based on a claim that the measure sponsor, Local Voters in Charge, did not follow correct procedures with paid canvassers gathering signatures.

The opponents to the measure also claimed that the popular name and ballot title for Amendment 2 were insufficient. Court justices had earlier split the two arguments, and Monday’s decision applied to the canvasser claim.

A court-appointed special master reviewed the evidence brought by Cherokee Nation and McGill that they said supported their claim. While the special master disqualified 5,966 signatures for address issues, they also determined that the other claims would be denied for a “lack of proof,” meaning that no less the 110,234 signatures were validated.

Arkansas required 90,704 signatures for ballot measures to be on the November 2024 ballot.

The court has not yet ruled on the second count in this case tied to the measure’s popular name and ballot title.

In a statement, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, whose office repressed Thurston’s office in this case, said he respected the court’s decision on this part of the petition while noting the case was not totally settled.

“I respect the Court’s decision,” Griffin wrote to KARK 4 News & FOX 16 News. “The Court has not yet ruled on the challenge to this petition’s ballot title and popular name, so we do not yet know whether votes for this ballot petition will be counted. We await the Court’s ruling.”

Local Voters in Charge shared a statement Monday evening following the decision.

We’re grateful for today’s Arkansas Supreme Court ruling. It’s no small thing for the Supreme Court to unanimously rule that we got it right on the canvassing process, with over 110 thousand signatures ultimately affirmed.

Issue 2’s message of local voter control – that communities should have the final say on a casino in their own hometown – is resonating across the state. We look forward to the court’s final decision on the ballot language challenge, with hope that the vote of the people will be counted on Issue 2 in November.

Local Voters in Charge

A spokesperson for the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee, which had filed a lawsuit claiming Local Voters in Charge broke state election laws by the way the group gathered signatures it submitted, shared a statement in response to the decision.

While disappointing, we still await the Court’s decision on the ballot title challenge. Issue 2 is misleading, and its sole purpose is to undo the will of Arkansas voters by eliminating the fourth casino license they approved in 2018. Voters will see this as a bad deal — out of state billionaires trying to manipulate Arkansans into changing the constitution to benefit their own self interest. If passed, Issue 2 would cost Arkansans thousands of jobs and much needed tax revenue, including funding for our roads.

Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.