Contact: Hans Stiritz
press@localvotersincharge.org
Little Rock, AR, October 17, 2024 – Today the Arkansas Supreme Court (ASC) ruled that Issue 2 belongs on the November ballot. Issue 2 gives local Arkansas voters the final say on whether to open their community to casino gambling, or to keep it out.
“This is a great day for the people of Arkansas. We are one step closer to ensuring that local voters—not politicians and gambling lobbyists—have the final say on whether or not casinos are allowed in their hometowns. Allowing local communities to determine their own future is a time-honored American value. Issue 2 keeps casinos from being forced on communities that vote against them,” said Local Voters in Charge spokesman Hans Stiritz. “We’re grateful for the Arkansas Supreme Court’s final decision to affirm the certification of Issue 2, keep it on the ballot, and allow the vote of the people to be counted.”
Issue 2 opponents, led by gambling interests and politicians intent on building a casino in a county that said “no,” desperately tried to block the state vote on Issue 2 with this baseless lawsuit. But the court rejected the claims of our opponents, affirming in today’s decision, “we [the Supreme Court] hold that the popular name and ballot title are an intelligible, honest, and impartial means of presenting the Proposed Amendment to the people for their consideration. We hold that it is an adequate and fair representation without misleading tendencies or partisan coloring.”
Issue 2 is simple: it puts local voters in charge of any future attempt to build a casino in any Arkansas community. It doesn’t affect the three currently operating casinos, doesn’t authorize any new licenses, and stops casinos from being built where local voters oppose them, now and in the future.
The petition drive to put Issue 2 before voters far exceeded the state-wide reach of previous efforts for statewide constitutional amendment campaigns. “In record numbers, Arkansas voters asked to be able to support the obvious—casinos should not be forced into communities that do not want them,” continued Stiritz. “Our state’s motto ‘Regnat Populus’—‘The People Rule’—is a promise that that we can fulfill by supporting Issue 2 in November.”
Despite millions of dollars spent by gambling interests to try to derail Issue 2 and deprive citizens of their vote, this issue is proving to be popular with Arkansas voters. “It’s shocking that gambling interests would want to barge into local communities uninvited,” said Stiritz.
As we move forward from this decision toward Election Day, we also ask the out-of-state gambling interests funding the campaign against Issue 2: what are you afraid of? If your casinos are so beneficial to a local community, why not trust local voters to decide this issue? It’s time to put Local Voters in Charge, by voting for Issue 2.
