Prosecuting Attorney Scott Ellington has called for authorities to investigate possible fraudulent signatures on two ballot initiatives. Some Mississippi County residents in Ellington’s Second Judicial District have signed sworn affidavits alleging that they never signed an initiated act to raise the state’s severance tax. Ellington said similar allegations have come in Craighead and Crittenden Counties over professional poker player and business woman Nancy Todd’s proposed constitutional amendment to allow more casino gambling in the state. He’s referred the allegations to the state police and county sheriffs.

Naturally, the Stop Casinos Now! Committee (funded by Southland, effectively a casino itself) is pleased. Committee Chairman Chuck Lange released this statement:

Advertisement

“On behalf of Stop Casinos Now! committee members and the people of Arkansas, we want to thank Prosecutor Ellington for asking law enforcement to investigate ‘suspicions of fraudulent signatures’ collected by Nancy Todd. We hope this investigation brings to light actions by Nancy Todd to collect an ‘extreme’ number of questionable signatures.”

“We will continue our own internal investigation of the signatures and assist law enforcement in any way we can to protect Arkansans in the future.”

As Max has reported, the secretary of state’s office had previously said it was mulling seeking a police investigation into canvassing fraud, but didn’t plan to make a decision until after it had finished vetting signatures.

Sheffield Nelson, who led the severance tax campaign, suspended his petition drive in July after 70 percent of the signatures the campaign turned into the secretary of state’s office were invalidated. Todd had a similar success rate with her casino amendment. She has until Aug. 22 to turn in almost 56,000 additional signatures.

Advertisement

On the jump, I’m tacking on what Max wrote back in July about that threat of investigation. Still applies.

Help to Keep Great Journalism Alive in Arkansas

Join the fight for truth and become a subscriber of the Arkansas Times. We've been battling powerful forces for 50 years through our tough, determined, and feisty journalism. With over 63,000 Facebook followers, 58,000 Twitter followers, 35,000 Arkansas blog followers, and 70,000 daily email blasts, our readers value great journalism. But we need your help to do even more. By subscribing and supporting our efforts, you'll not only have access to all of our articles, but you'll also be helping us hire more writers to expand our coverage. Together, we can continue to hold the powerful accountable and bring important stories to light. Subscribe now or donate for as little as $1 and be a part of the Arkansas Times community.

Previous article One year free, WM3 still seeking exoneration Next article Talk amongst yourselves