Arkansas Repeal Authorization for Casino in Pope County Initiative (2022)

Arkansas Repeal Authorization for Casino in Pope County Initiative
Election date November 8, 2022
Topic Gambling
Status Not on the ballot
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens

The Arkansas Repeal Authorization for Casino in Pope County Initiative was not on the ballot in Arkansas as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.

This measure was designed to repeal the authorization for a casino in Pope County. The county was authorized through voter approval of Issue 4 in 2018 to grant a casino license for one casino.

Issue 4 was designed to grant Southland and Oaklawn automatic licenses to conduct casino gaming. Under the measure, the licenses in Pope and Jefferson counties require applications and require applicants to pay fees to apply, demonstrate experience in conducting casino gaming, or a furnish a letter of support from the county judge. The Pope County license was awarded to the Cherokee Nation.

Text of measure

Full text

The full text of the measure is available here.

Support

Supporters

• Fair Play for Arkansas 2022 sponsored the initiative.

Arguments

• Fair Play for Arkansas said, "Gambling interests are desperately trying to bring a casino to Pope County, over the objections of our community. In 2018, out-of-state casino developers wrote Pope County into a statewide ballot initiative to legalize casino gambling in just four counties in Arkansas—without any input from Pope County citizens. It turns out that Pope County voters don’t want a casino. We rejected Amendment 100 by a 3-2 margin, the highest NO vote of any county in the state. Unfortunately, a new amendment is the only way Pope County can be removed from our constitution. We deserve what 71 other counties in Arkansas enjoy: the freedom to live without a controversial gambling development forced on us. No statewide mandate should affect an individual community that has clearly and repeatedly shown at the ballot box that it doesn’t want to participate in the exploitation inherent in the gambling industry. Give Pope County FAIR PLAY. Stand with us to remove Pope County from Amendment 100."

Opposition

Opponents

• Arkansas Tourism Alliance
• Little Rock Attorneys Dustin McDaniel and David Couch

Arguments

• Little Rock Attorney Dustin McDaniel said, "Arkansans will see right through Fair Play for Arkansas’ greedy efforts to eliminate 1,200 good-paying jobs and take tourism dollars of our state. Fair Play for Arkansas is merely a front for those who would rather see billions of dollars go to Oklahoma and not Arkansas."

• Arkansas Tourism Alliance said, "In 2018, Arkansans voted to reclaim their tourism dollars. The passage of Amendment 100 established 4 casino licenses. 3 casinos are running, generating more than $160 million in tax revenue between April 2019 and Jan. 2022. Meanwhile, Fair Play for Arkansas - funded by an out-of-state interest - seeks to amend the Arkansas Constitution to remove the Pope County license."

Background

Issue 4, 2018

See also: Arkansas Issue 4, Casinos Authorized in Crittenden, Garland, Pope, and Jefferson Counties Initiative (2018)

Arkansas Issue 4, approved by a vote of 54% to 46% in 2018, authorized the issuance of four casino licenses to specified licensees, as follows:

• To Southland Racing Corporation (Southland) for casino gaming at a casino to be located at or adjacent to Southland's greyhound track and gaming facility in Crittenden County;
• To Oaklawn Jockey Club, Inc. ("Oaklawn") to require casino gaming at a casino to be located at or adjacent to Oaklawn's horse track and gaming facility in Garland County;
• To an applicant to require casino gaming at a casino to be located in Pope County within two miles of Russellville; and
• To an applicant to require casino gaming at a casino to be located in Jefferson County within two miles of Pine Bluff.

The measure was designed to grant Southland and Oaklawn automatic licenses to conduct casino gaming. Under the measure, the licenses in Pope and Jefferson counties require applications and require applicants to pay fees to apply, demonstrate experience in conducting casino gaming, or a furnish a letter of support from the county judge. The Pope County license was awarded to the Cherokee Nation, but was not effective as of August 2022 pending court rulings on legal challenges. County Judge Ben Cross supported the Cherokee Nation's license.

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Arkansas

The state process

In Arkansas, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. Proponents must collect signatures equaling at least half of the designated percentage of gubernatorial votes in at least 50 of the state's counties. Signatures remain valid until the date of the next general election following the certification of ballot language. Signature petitions must be submitted four months prior to the election at which the measure is to appear.

The requirements to get initiated constitutional amendments certified for the 2022 ballot:

• Signatures: 89,151 valid signatures
• Deadline: July 8, 2022—four months prior to the election

If the secretary of state certifies that enough signatures were submitted in a petition, the initiative is put on the ballot. If a petition fails to meet the signature requirement, but the petition has at least 75 percent of the valid signatures needed, petitioners have 30 days to collect additional signatures or demonstrate that rejected signatures are valid.

Details about this initiative

• The initiative was filed on February 7, 2022, by Fair Play for Arkansas 2022.
• Fair Play for Arkansas 2022 reported submitting 100,000 signatures on July 8, 2022.
• On August 3, the Arkansas State Board of Election Commissioners declined to certify the ballot title and popular names for the initiative, as well as the Marijuana Legalization Initiative. Fair Play for Arkansas 2022 said they were considering their options to challenge the board's decision. Responsible Growth Arkansas said they planned to challenge the board's decision with the Arkansas Supreme Court.
• On August 8, 2022, Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston (R) announced that the initiative did not qualify for the November ballot. Proponents submitted 62,859 valid signatures. The group did not qualify for the 30-day cure period, which would have allowed proponents to collect additional signatures if at least 66,864 valid signatures were submitted.

See also

2022 measures

• 2022 ballot measures
• Gambling on the ballot
• 2022 petition deadlines

Arkansas

• Arkansas ballot measures
• Arkansas initiative laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls
• Ballot measure signature costs

External links

• University of Arkansas: Arkansas 2022 Statewide Ballot Issues
• Full text

Support

• Fair Play for Arkansas campaign website
• Fair Play for Arkansas Facebook page

Opposition

Submit links to editor@ballotpedia.org.