A grassroots group in Pope County has started a petition drive aimed at placing a proposed casino-related constitutional amendment on the state ballot in November. The measure vote seeks to take place on November 3rd and ask local voters for their opinion in a move to remove the county as one of the possible locations for a casino. If it is approved by state voters, any casino license that Pope County receives could be annulled.
The leader of the anti-casino group Citizens for a Better Pope County, Larry Walker, explained that licenses are not a matter of property interest under the rules of the Racing Commission and Arkansas’ property laws in general. Mr. Walker further noted that such licenses could be revoked and if the measure reaches the state’s ballot in November and voters decide they do not want a casino venue in Pope County, those licenses would be annulled with retroactive effect to November 2018. The constitutional amendment would also undo any further progress on the license issuing procedure.
Arkansas Racing Commission has a meeting scheduled to take place on June 18th to interview and assess two companies that had applied for the Pope County casino license – Gulfside Casino Partnership of Mississippi and Cherokee Nation Businesses of Oklahoma.
Constitutional Amendment 100 Could Be Changed If Voters Approve the Proposed Anti-Casino Measure
Last week, the ballot initiative package with petition samples was filed to Secretary of State John Thurston by a new group called Fair Play for Arkansas. The group would have to collect 89,151 valid signatures of state registered voters by July 3rd in order to make sure its measure would be included in the November 3rd ballot.
According to a local resident, who is also a member of both Fair Play for Arkansas and Citizens for a Better Pope County, Hans Stiritz, the requirement to gather nearly 90,000 valid signatures of local voters for such a short time is intimidating. Still, campaigners feel they could manage, especially with US District Judge P.K. Holmes having granted relief on the signatures acceptance. Recently, the District Judge has ruled that organizers of the ballot will be allowed to accept petition signatures sent via mail at the times when final ruling in the case is pending.
If voters approve the proposed measure, the latter would make change constitutional Amendment 100, which was passed by voters in November 2018 to permit the construction of a new casino in Pope and Jefferson counties each in case such projects get the support of local officials. It was also aimed at allowing the expansion of gambling at West Memphis and Hot Springs’ racetracks.
However, the voters of Pope County dejected Amendment 100 at the November 2018 ballot and gave their support for an ordinance that would require local officials to seek the approval of voters before backing such a proposal.
