Arkansas Issue 4 Survives Lawsuits Attack, Remains on November Ballot

Arkansas is now officially set to welcome the ballot at the beginning of November which would most certainly come with the controversial for many casino gaming question for voting. Issue 4 is eyed by thousands preparing to cast their vote on 6th November and now all attempts of nixing the question made with the help of filed lawsuits have been rejected by the state Supreme Court.

The community has been concerned regarding the particular language of the proposed ballot question. It is set to provide the authority with an accurate perspective on the general opinion of the state. Residents of the state would have the chance to voice their opinion, but before that, the state regulators have to guarantee all votes would be cast by members of the community making an informed decision.

Lawsuits Dismissed by the Court

Over the span of the past couple of months a concerning thought has been swirling in the region since when it comes to voting and ambiguous wording, people have to be very careful how they interpret a given question and place their vote. In an attempt to prevent this, Ensuring Arkansas’ Future group went so far as to challenge the proposed measure in court.

Since it includes in its structure the Faith and Ethics Council, as well as the Family Council Action Committee, the push for question nixing was reasonable. The organization was willing to prevent the voting of the said question with the help of a lawsuit as the exact language of the question appeared misleading and eventually capable of tipping the scales in the wrong direction.

Among the concerns expressed was the fact that the corporations of Southland Racing Corp. and Oaklawn Jockey Club, Inc. are not listed in the amendment question. In addition to that, judging by the language of the Issue, Arkansas’ lawmakers would be obliged to issue a total of four casino licenses to the proposed developers without a decline option. The second lawsuit was filed by Citizens for Local Choice including residents of the counties which could welcome the new gaming activities.

Community’s Best Interest at Heart

This Thursday saw the official overruling of both lawsuits filed against the proposed language of Issue 4, as the State Supreme Court stated that the wording is not in any way ambiguous. Vote regarding the first lawsuit was unanimous, boosting the process.

However, when it was time for the second ruling, Associate Justice Josephine Hart expressed her opposition. She claimed that the language was, in fact, rather ambiguous and it could be interpreted in different ways. When all was said and done, the Supreme Court still overruled the lawsuit.

Residents would vote for the gaming expansion guided by the previously established wording of the question without any changes to it. Driving Arkansas Forward, the organization responsible for the introduced Issue expressed its gratitude for the ultimate decision. Native American tribes to the liking of Cherokee Nation and the Quapaw Tribe supporting the amendment have poured more than $3 million in support of the promotional campaign.

Christopher Burks, lawyer for Citizens for Local Choice stated shortly after the ruling that tribal interests were favored by the most recent decision, but residents still have the opportunity to put their foot down at the beginning of November and have the last saying on the casino amendment.