LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Opponents of a proposal to block a planned casino in Arkansas asked the state Supreme Court Thursday to disqualify the measure from the November ballot.

Cherokee Nation Entertainment, which was awarded a license to build and operate the casino, and a newly formed affiliated group filed a lawsuit challenging the proposed constitutional amendment a day after the secretary of state’s office said it qualified for the ballot.

The lawsuit accuses the ballot measure campaign, which is funded by Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, of violating several laws regarding signature gathering. The suit also challenges the wording of the ballot proposal, calling it “riddled with flaws.”

“Arkansans must be made aware of this deliberate scheme to openly violate Arkansas laws regarding canvassing and to mislead and confuse voters,” said Dover Mayor Roger Lee, an officer with Arkansas Canvassing Compliance Committee, which filed paperwork Thursday with the state to campaign against the measure.

A spokesperson for Arkansas Secretary of State John Thurston, who is named as the defendant in the case, declined to comment. Local Voters in Charge criticized the lawsuit and said said it was committed to fighting the challenge.

“It’s disappointing, but not surprising, that Cherokee Nation Businesses has filed a lawsuit that seeks to silence the voices of 116,000 Arkansas voters who want something that could not be more reasonable: a statewide vote to give local voters the final say on whether a casino should be built in their community, or not,” Hans Stiritz, a spokesperson for the group, said in a statement.

The lawsuit claims that canvassers hired by the campaign were paid or awarded prizes based on the number of signatures obtained, in violation of state law, and that they made repeated false statements about the measure when gathering signatures. The lawsuit also claimed that the initiative campaign failed to register and certify paid canvassers.

Thurston’s office on Wednesday said Local Voters in Charge had turned in more than enough valid signatures from registered voters to put it measure on the ballot.

The proposed amendment would revoke the license granted for a Pope County casino that has been hung up by legal challenges for the past several years. Pope County was one of four sites where casinos were allowed to be built under a constitutional amendment that voters approved in 2018. Casinos have already been set up in the other three locations.

The state Racing Commission in June awarded Cherokee Nation Entertainment the license for the casino.

CNN
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The suspect accused of killing four people and injuring nine others during a shooting at an Arkansas grocery store has been charged with additional counts of attempted murder.

Travis Eugene Posey, 44, now faces four counts of capital murder and 11 counts of attempted capital murder, according to online court records.

Posey appeared before a judge early this week on the additional charges and remains held without bond, according to court records.

Posey had previously pleaded not guilty to the murder charges, the prosecuting attorney in the case told CNN.

CNN has reached out to Posey’s attorney for comment.

Posey is accused of opening fire at the Mad Butcher in Fordyce, Arkansas, on June 21.

Authorities believe Posey began engaging victims in the parking lot after exiting his truck and then entered the store, Secretary of Public Safety and Director of Arkansas State Police Mike Hagar said.

He then fired “indiscriminately” at customers and employees inside the store, according to Hagar.

“The suspect arrived at the Mad Butcher armed,” he said. “We believe that most, if not all the rounds fired by the suspect were from the shotgun.”

A motive is unclear, police say.

Law enforcement responded to the shooting around 11:30 a.m. and exchanged gunfire with the suspect, state police said.

“He immediately engaged in a firefight with law enforcement, where they were able to stop the threat,” Hagar said.

Posey was treated for non-life-threatening injuries and taken to the Ouachita County Detention Center, state police said in a news release.

Hundreds of Walmart Inc. employees joined what they thought would be a routine Zoom call in May when talk veered to mandatory relocation to Arkansas. The policy is “a bunch of bullsh-t,” blurted out one participant.

Workers on the call were startled, but not surprised, according to people familiar with the matter who weren’t authorized to speak publicly on the meeting. Thousands of employees from smaller offices and remote workers around the US have been ordered to the retailer’s corporate hubs, a move by the company to draw more people back to offices.