Voters Approve Lottery Scholarship Funds for VoTech Students and Repeal Pope County Casino  

Election results aren't official yet and not all counties have reported, but there's no doubt Arkansas voters approved Issue 1 and Issue 2 on this year's ballot.

As of Wednesday morning, Arkansas Secretary of State election results show 65% of Arkansas' 1.8 million registered voters cast ballots in the election.

As an aside, Secretary of State John Thurston was elected Tuesday to be Arkansas' next state treasurer. Gov. Sarah Sanders will be tasked with appointing a new Secretary of State, who will oversee the 2026 elections. The 2026 election will be the next time voters will decide statewide ballot issues.

Issue 1

Issue 1 passed in every county and secured the highest percentage of votes in favor of any Arkansas ballot issue dating back to 1938, according to Secretary of State historical records.

Statewide vote tallies on Wednesday morning show Issue 1 passed by a vote of 1,017,964 (89.6%) FOR to 118,072 (10.4%) AGAINST.

Referred by the legislature, Issue 1 will allow lottery scholarship funding to also be used for scholarships and grants at private and public vocational and technical schools.

The sponsor, Rep. Robin Lundstrum, expects to flesh out the details of how Issue 1 will be applied with legislation in the 2025 Arkansas General Session. Legislators can start filing proposed laws Nov. 15. The legislature has until Feb. 12 to file proposed constitutional amendments as well as legislation related to lottery-funded scholarships.

There was no registered opposition to this ballot measure. Supporters spent more than $39,000 on their campaigns to pass Issue 1 before Election Day, according to financial reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

Issue 2

Voters approved eliminating the fourth casino license in the Arkansas Constitution and requiring countywide voter approval for any future casino license. The passage of this amendment means Arkansas will for the foreseeable future have casinos only in Hot Springs, Pine Bluff and West Memphis.

Voters in Pope County, where the fourth casino was planned, rejected Issue 2 as did voters in Conway, Johnson, Little River, Pulaski and Yell counties.

Statewide tallies show Issue 2 passing by a vote of 631,417 (55.8%) FOR to 500,465 (44.2%) AGAINST.

The Arkansas Racing Commission awarded the Pope County casino license in June to Cherokee Nation Entertainment. The Oklahoma-based business planned to build Legends Resort & Casino on 325 acres near Interstate 40 in Russellville. Plans included a 50,000-square-foot casino gaming area, a hotel, event space and an outdoor entertainment venue.

Gulfside Casino Partnership in July filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to void the Racing Commission's decision. The lawsuit names the Arkansas Racing Commission, the county judge and individual quorum court members, as well as Cherokee Nation Businesses and Cherokee Nation Entertainment. Gulfside Casino Partnership said the economic development agreement Pope County officials signed in 2019 with Cherokee Nation Entertainment prevented other companies from competing for their support because it said the county would be in default if it endorsed any other casino license applicant. This lawsuit may now be moot with the passage of Issue 2, which revokes the license.

Sponsors of Issue 2 have opposed plans to build the casino since 2018, when voters originally approved Amendment 100 that authorized casinos in four specific counties. Voters in Pope County rejected Amendment 100 on the 2018 ballot.

Combined, supporters and opponents of the casino issue spent more than $27 million on their 2024 campaigns before Election Day, according to financial reports filed with the Arkansas Ethics Commission.

When will results be official?

The election is over but absentee ballots can still be arriving from military or overseas voters, and people who voted with a provisional ballot have until noon Tuesday to bring their photo identification to election officials to ensure their ballots are counted.

State law gives county election commissions 15 days after the general election and annual school election to certify election results to the Secretary of State. Election commissions are public boards and will be holding public meetings over the next two weeks to officially approve their 2024 election results.

View the state's 2024 election calendar