Arkansas Supreme Court agrees to expedite Pope County casino ballot question hearing

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The Arkansas Supreme Court has agreed to expedite its review of the ballot initiative aiming to remove the Pope County casino.

The court agreed with a July 31 petition to review the ballot question that would remove the licensed casino in a Friday afternoon order. The petition by the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee (ACCC) claims that Local Voters in Charge, the group sponsoring a ballot initiative to remove Pope County from the list of places authorized to have a casino, broke Arkansas election laws.

ACCC, joined by Cherokee Nation Entertainment, LLC, the casino's license holder, states that most of the signatures gathered to get the question on the ballot are invalid and that the popular name and ballot title are misleading.

In agreeing to expedite, the court also appointed Eighth Judicial Circuit Judge Randy Wright as a special master to resolve any factual disputes in the petition. The court-ordered briefs must be submitted beginning Aug. 16, with final replies due by Sept. 26.

Voters approved four casinos in the state in 2018, including one in Pope County. While the other three have been in operation for years, the Pope County casino has been tied up in legal and political opposition from various groups.

from KARK https://ift.tt/CsVMH1q