Votes cast on a proposed ballot measure that would repeal a Pope County casino license and require countywide special elections for any new casinos built in Arkansas will count, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday.
In a majority opinion authored by Justice Karen Baker, the court found the popular name and ballot title were sufficient. Earlier this week, the court also found the signature collection of ballot question committee Local Voters in Charge was appropriate.
Arkansas Supreme Court partially denies challenge to anti-casino ballot measure
“In sum, we hold that the popular name and ballot title are an intelligible, honest, and impartial means of presenting the proposed amendment to the people for their consideration,” said Baker, writing for the majority. “We hold that it is an adequate and fair representation without misleading tendencies or partisan coloring.”
Justice Rhonda Wood concurred and Justice Shawn Womack dissented.
The popular name and ballot title of a proposed ballot measure must be approved by the Arkansas attorney general before the signature collection process can begin. While the ballot title is intended to give voters a fair understanding of the issues without including misleading information or omitting relevant information, the popular name is more succinct and serves as a way to identify the proposal in discussion.
In his dissent, Womack said the popular name and ballot title were misleading to voters by not revealing existing information about the Pope County casino license.
“…Neither the popular name nor the ballot title contemplates revoking an already existing license that has been issued by the Arkansas Racing Commission,” Womack wrote. “Indeed, both use future tense language indicating that the vote will affect action taken prospectively without revealing to voters that a vote in favor of the amendment will, in fact, repeal action that has already been taken prior to any votes being cast.”
The Arkansas Racing Commission issued the Pope County casino license to Cherokee Nation in June. Gulfside Casino Partnership, another license applicant, filed a lawsuit in July challenging the commission’s decision. The litigation is still pending.
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Early voting in Arkansas starts Monday, and the fate of the votes cast on the anti-casino proposed constitutional amendment has been up in the air since a group challenged the signature collection efforts and the popular name and ballot title.
Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee, a group with members involved in the Pope County casino license dispute, filed a petition with the state Supreme Court one day after Secretary of State John Thurston certified the amendment for the ballot based on an adequate number of signatures.
During a hearing in August before Special Master Randy Wright, ACCC’s attorneys argued that the ballot question committee Local Voters in Charge illegally financially incentivized its canvassers and hired out-of-state residents to collect signatures. Thurston, through counsel with the attorney general’s office, also argued that all signatures collected should be disqualified because an agent signed required paperwork in place of a sponsor.
The high court ruled earlier this week that the agents who signed for Local Voters in Charge did so appropriately, and there was not enough evidence to prove other claims about the group’s signature collection. The court took a report from Wright into consideration when making its decision.
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Wright also found nearly 6,000 signatures collected should be thrown out due to insufficient addresses, but Local Voters in Charge still exceeded the 90,704 signatures required for proposed constitutional amendments to qualify for the ballot.
“This is a great day for the people of Arkansas,” said Hans Stiritz, spokesperson for Local Voters in Charge in a press release. “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. Allowing local communities to determine their own future is a time-honored American value.”
This is a developing story. Local Voters in Charge will hold a press conference this afternoon to comment on the court’s decision.
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