Arkansas secretary of state approves casino ballot measure, marijuana proposal gets more time to gather signatures

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – The November 2024 Arkansas ballot will include a question impacting the planned casino for Pope County.

Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston sent a letter of sufficiency to the group Local Voters in Charge on Thursday certifying that the group has met the required signature threshold to place “An Amendment Requiring Local Voter Approval in a Countywide Special Election for Certain New Casino Licenses and Repealing Authority to Issue a Casino License in Pope County, Arkansas” on the ballot.

The letter of sufficiency states that the group provided 116,200 verified signatures supporting its inclusion on the ballot against a required 90,704 signatures.

At the same time, Thurston’s office announced that the proposed Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment was short of the required total number of signatures but noted that the total number of signatures raised by bill supporters did meet the threshold set by state law to institute a 30-day cure period to obtain additional signatures.

Supporters of the bill have until Friday, Aug. 30, to submit any additional signatures.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

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