Pope County Judge Asks Arkansas Elections Board to Reject Casino Referendum

Pope County Judge Ben Cross is calling on the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners to pooh-pooh a gambling casino ballot referendum effort. The evaluate is existence pushed by a Native American tribe in Oklahoma.

The Choctaw Nation owns and operates tribal casinos inward neighboring Oklahoma. The federation of tribes is funding a political activeness citizens committee inward Arkansas called “Fair Play AR (FPA).” The safari is seeking to ram another statewide cassino referendum. But this time, it’s one asking voters to transfer Pope County from being an eligible legion county for a gaming destination.

Arkansans approved a casino referendum during the 2018 election that designated 4 counties — Pope, Crittenden, Garland, and Thomas Jefferson — as boniface gambling casino counties. That ballot effort was largely supported past the Cherokee Nation and Quapaw Tribe, both of Oklahoma.

The Choctaws contradict AR allowing a casino to be built inward Alexander Pope County, as the installation would be to a lesser extent than 90 miles from its Chahta Casino & Resort inwards Pocola, Ok. The Choctaws say since Alexander Pope voters were one of only if 11 counties come out of 74 in AR that voted to turn away the 2018 commercial gaming referendum, a gambling casino should not live forced on those residents.

Cross says the Choctaws’ motives are clear, and the federation of tribes is only when sounding come out for itself — non Arkansans.

Fair Play Not Behaving Fairly, Judge Says

For a ballot referendum to reach out election booths this year, an initiative must subject at least 89,151 occupant signatures expressing their want to librate inwards on the evaluate during the November election. FPA claims it submitted to a greater extent than 103,000 qualifying signatures to Arkansas Secretary of State Saint John the Apostle Thurston before this month.

Thurston’s business office continues to verify the signatures. If FPA meets the threshold, Arkansas River Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office would and so demand to O.K. the referendum statute title and wording. That’s before the thing would follow printed on the ballots.

Cross says Fair Play Arkansas’ signature assemblage methods get been confutable at best. He says the aggroup has deceived residents in collecting their support.

Having been the guinea pig of a “Fair Play Arkansas” signature tune gathering canvasser personally, i tin res publica firsthand, the misleading spirit of the initiative issue,” Cross wrote the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners.

Cross contends that the aggroup isn’t fairly representing what the referendum seeks to accomplish. The adjudicate says the canvassers are telling Arkansans that signing would set aside an opportunity for Alexander Pope County to follow stripped-down of its gambling casino candidacy to fulfill the wishes of the county’s residents.

But Cross argues that it fails to electrical relay that such a referendum loss would potential termination inward practically litigation. The judge explains that it’s unclear what would resultant if AR was to countermand the gambling casino permission it issued to the Cherokee Carry Nation inward backwash of Alexander Pope County existence withdrawn as a gambling casino locale.

Cross points to the fact that the Choctaw’s own attorney admitted that it would be upward to the courts. The legal minds would settle the status of the Cherokee casino permission in Pope County after the voters approve the referendum.

If the sponsor’s attorney cannot recount you whether an existing permit testament be grandfathered or eliminated if this amendment passes, how could any elector pretty be expected to infer the answer to that interrogation inwards the voting booth?” Cross asks.

Cross says the Election Commissioners are tasked with preventing ambiguous, confusing, or purposely misleading referendum languages from reaching the ballot.

Economic Activity at Stake

Cross to boot asserts to the commonwealth that “Fair Play’s” referendum initiative could jeopardize 1,500 jobs, a $250 one thousand thousand investment, and tens of millions of unexampled revenue enhancement dollars for the country and county.

Cross concluded past explaining that spell nearly 61% of Pope voters rejected the 2018 gambling casino referendum, the county’s voter widening that twelvemonth was less than 53%. The justice believes there is today a “favorable perception” among the county for the Cherokee casino plan.

The Cherokee Nation plans to establish a $250 trillion cassino holiday resort inwards Russellville called Legends Resort & Casino through and through its gaming and hospitality unit, Cherokee Carry Nation Businesses. The send off is existence developed inward conjunctive with Legends Hospitality, which is controlled past Dallas Cowboys billionaire owner and AR indigen Jerry Jones.