Oklahoma-based Cherokee Nation Businesses is challenging a recently approved ballot amendment in the Arkansas Supreme Court.
On Wednesday, Secretary of State John Thurston approved an amendment to stop a casino from being built in Pope County. The amendment had enough approved signatures to go on the ballot for voters in November.
The amendment being pushed by a group called Local Voters in Charge would prevent a casino from being built in any community that did not vote for it. Cherokee Nation Businesses and a new group called the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee are opposing the amendment.
They are arguing in court documents that Local Voters in Charge used deceptive practices when collecting signatures. They are suing Thurston in his official capacity as secretary of state.
“The litigation seeks to invalidate signatures obtained by LVC for failure to comply with Arkansas law on numerous grounds during the canvassing process,” Allison Burum of Cherokee Nation Businesses says.
Debate over an open casino license in Pope County has been ongoing for years. Cherokee Nation Businesses lost the bid for the casino license, with it instead going to the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Cherokee Nation Businesses then spent millions of dollars to fund a group called Local Voters in Charge. They engaged in a campaign to stop the casino from being built, deploying canvassers across the state to collect over 100,000 signatures stopping the casino.
The amendment they were pushing would prevent a casino license from going to a community that was rejected by the voters who live there. Pope County residents in 2016 voted against the amendment that created the casino in their community.
In their promotional materials, Local Voters in Charge said they wanted communities to have a say in whether to build a casino in their town. They have also been adamant that the fight over the casino has caused lost revenue for Pope County, which was promised tax money from the casino.
Cherokee Nation Businesses and the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee filed the suit against Local Voters In Charge Thursday, a day after the amendment was approved.
There are several allegations listed in the complaint. They say the group collected signatures fraudulently, that their ballot title is misleading and that it contrasts with language in the Arkansas Constitution.
The suit says the group unlawfully gave extra $100 payments to canvassers who collected more signatures. If true, this could be illegal, but court filings provide no evidence except to say it is their “information and belief.” They say some of the signatures were collected without a valid residence address, but they provide no examples.
The suit also claims that Local Voters in Charge were using “captains.” These are people who are tasked with training other canvassers. They said the canvassers did not sign the proper affidavits. They claim that some of the captains had criminal convictions, but provide no examples.
Another claim is that some canvassers committed a misdemeanor when they “lied” about what was in the casino amendment. The group provided reporters with links to three videos that appear to show people saying the amendment builds casinos which is not what the amendment does.
The videos are difficult to decipher and unverified. In one video, the camera is pointed at the ground. The other mostly shows the sky and a third shows the legs of someone who is supposedly canvassing for the amendment.
The allegation argues the language in the amendment is unconstitutional. In Arkansas, an amendment can not go before voters unless it is approved by Attorney General Tim Griffin who examines the language for legal issues. This approval process already happened months ago.
Hans Stiritz a spokesman for Local Voters in Charge said this in a statement: "We are fully committed to ensuring that the people of Arkansas will not be deprived of having their say on this important issue."
Note: the article was edited to add a statement from Hans Stiritz.
