\n“In light of the Arkansas Supreme Court’s failure to put forth clear standards, I am certifying \u2026 to ensure Arkansans are given an opportunity to put these measures on the ballot,” Rutledge declared.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\nThe deadline to submit signatures was July 9. DAF officials say they submitted more than 96,000 signatures, which Arkansas Secretary of State Mark Martin’s office is now reviewing for authenticity.<\/p>\n
Should Martin sign off on the signatures and put the casino question before voters, only a simple majority is needed in November to amend the state constitution and legalize casinos in Arkansas.<\/p>\n
Tribal Interest<\/b><\/h2>\n
The Indian removal forced migration in the 19th century saw the Quapaw and Cherokee Indians who once called Arkansas home relocate to neighboring states, predominantly Oklahoma. Today, the tribes have no sovereign reservations in Arkansas, which is why they simply cannot build a Class I and II casino.<\/p>\n
The Cherokees operate nine casinos in Oklahoma, and the Quapaw nation two.<\/p>\n
Arkansas is one of just 11 states that doesn’t have either tribal or commercial casinos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
An effort to bring Arkansas casinos is being heavily funded by two tribes based in Oklahoma. Campaign finance records show that the Quapaw Tribe and Cherokee Nation collectively poured $1.23 million into Driving Arkansas Forward (DAF), a committee pushing a constitutional ballot referendum to authorize four casinos.\u00a0The Quapaw’s gave $707,000, and the Cherokee’s $525,300. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":84132,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,18,61,13592],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Arkansas Casino Campaign Receives Funding From Oklahoma Tribes<\/title>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\t\n