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Arkansas Supreme Court expedites challenge to casino-license ballot amendment, appoints special master
Summary
The Arkansas Supreme Court granted expedited review of a petition challenging Secretary of State John Thurston’s certification of a proposed constitutional amendment on casino licenses, granted intervention to the amendment’s sponsor, ordered bifurcated proceedings, appointed a special master and set briefing and bond requirements.
The Arkansas Supreme Court on Aug. 9, 2024, granted expedited consideration of an original-action petition that seeks to invalidate a proposed initiated constitutional amendment affecting casino licenses and ordered a special master to resolve factual disputes. Petitioners Jennifer McGill, individually and on behalf of the Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee, and Cherokee Nation Entertainment, LLC, contend the secretary of state’s certification was invalid on two grounds: an insufficient number of valid signatures and an inadequate popular name and ballot title.
The court said the petition was filed Aug. 1, 2024, after John Thurston, in his official capacity as Arkansas secretary of state, certified a proposed amendment on July 31, 2024, to appear on the Nov. 5, 2024, general-election ballot. The popular name certified by the secretary reads in part “An Amendment Requiring Local Voter Approval in Countywide Special Election for Certain New Casino Licenses and Repealing Authority to Issue a Casino License in Pope County, Arkansas.”
The court, in a per curiam order, granted the petitioners’ motion to expedite and granted intervention to Local Voters in Charge, a ballot-question committee that sponsored the proposed amendment, and to Jim Knight, individually and on behalf of Local Voters in Charge. "We grant expedited consideration of the petition and grant the motion to intervene," the court said. The court denied the petitioners’ motion for oral argument.
The court ordered bifurcation of the petition’s two counts. Count I, which challenges the sufficiency of signatures after excluding invalid ones, raises factual disputes; the court appointed the Honorable Randy Wright as special master to resolve those factual matters and to address discovery motions. The special master’s report is due no later than Sept. 9, 2024. Per the order, briefs on Count I are due Sept. 16, 2024 (petitioners), Sept. 23, 2024 (respondent and intervenors), and Sept. 26, 2024 (reply).
Count II, which challenges whether the popular name and ballot title are sufficient, will proceed on an expedited briefing schedule: petitioners’ brief due Aug. 16, 2024; respondent’s and intervenors’ briefs due Aug. 23, 2024; and a reply brief due Aug. 28, 2024.
The court also directed petitioners and intervenors to post a bond of $5,000, to be approved by the clerk of the court, to secure payment of costs related to taking and transcribing proof, including the special master’s fee; the order cited the court’s practice in Arkansans for Healthy Eyes v. Thurston, 2020 Ark. 129, in support of requiring a bond when a special master is appointed. The order noted the State of Arkansas is not subject to payment of those costs.
Justice Wood filed a separate note that he would have granted oral argument. Justices Womack and Hiland wrote that they would postpone a decision on oral argument until after receipt of the special master’s report. The order concluded, "It is so ordered."
