Four of the potential initiated acts gathered enough signatures to be reviewed by the Secretary of State's office. However - these signatures must be reviewed to determine if everyone that signed is a registered voter. There will assuredly be many who signed that are not registered to vote. If enough of these signers fall off and the petition slips below the threshold then the proposed acts will not be on the ballot in November.
There is one last opportunity for petitioners if they fall below the threshold. State law allows them 30 more days to collect signatures if they slip below the threshold.
Here is a run down of those initiated acts that turned in signatures:
1. Increase the severance tax on natural gas to 7%. Supporters turned in 69,717 signatures. The threshold is 62,507. So they can lose 11% of the signatures and meet the minimum. I think losing more than 10% is unlikely unless the people that gathered signatures were completely untrained.
2. Medical marijuana - This would legalize marijuana for medical purposes and establish dispensaries. 67,883 signatures were turned in, which is 5,376 more than necessary. This about a 9% cushion, so they will likely be sweating the counting process.
3. Allow Nancy Todd Poker Palace in Four Locations. This would establish poker rooms in four locations around the state - mostly in central and east Arkansas. This is a constitutional amendment so it requires 78,133 signatures. Nancy turned in 80,373 or just barely enough. I would bet that a 3% cushion isn't likely to last as they review the petition.
4. Legalize Casino Gambling in Seven Counties. Supporters of this initiative reported raising $0 and spending $0, yet they somehow obtained 83,772 signatures. I find that dubious. More likely they failed to file any finance reports. They can lose 5,600 votes and meet the 78,000 threshold or about 7 percent. They might make it. If they do they better file some updated finance reports so I can see who they hired that got more than 80,000 signatures with no publicity.
