Rulings leave unanswered questions on canvassers

LITTLE ROCK (AP) — By disqualifying proposals to legalize casinos and limit medical lawsuit damages from the November ballot, Arkansas' highest court punted on questions surrounding a state law aimed at keeping track of workers paid to gather signatures for initiatives. Justices also may have opened new questions for how the language of future ballot measures will be crafted and approved.

The court's rulings earlier this month against the two proposed constitutional amendments hinged on problems justices found in the language that would go before voters, not the argument that thousands of signatures should have been tossed for each one. The court, meanwhile, is still weighing a third lawsuit against a medical marijuana initiative that also challenges its petitions.

Both the casino and medical lawsuits provisions faced challenges from opponents who said the groups behind the measures didn't comply with a state law requiring paid canvassers to register with the state and undergo criminal background checks, but justices didn't address those concerns. Instead, they determined both ballot titles didn't adequately inform voters.

For casinos, that hinged on the argument that the ballot title did not inform Arkansas voters that the measure would violate a federal law prohibiting sports gambling in the state.