Campaign to bring casino to Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks sues to get measure on ballot

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — A campaign to bring a casino to the Missouri tourist destination of the Lake of the Ozarks on Tuesday sued to get the proposal on November’s ballot.

The secretary of state’s office last week said the campaign did not collect enough voter signatures for the constitutional amendment to go before voters.

But the Osage River and Gaming Convention said it collected plenty of signatures.

“Verifying every signature on multiple initiative petitions this summer has been a very long process for election officials and we realize mistakes happen,” the group said in a statement. “However, ORGC has always been confident their initiative petition contained a sufficient number of valid signatures from legal voters to qualify for placement on the November 5, 2024, general election ballot and are now asking the Court to do so.”

The state constitution allows casinos only on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The petition seeks authorization for one casino on the Osage River, which feeds into the Lake of the Ozarks.