Arkansas voters face key decision on ballot issues in today’s election

By Victoria Hernandez, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville

UPDATE: The Associated Press has favored Arkansas for Trump.

For the Arkansas 2024 election, three Issues are on the ballots for The Natural State. 

Only two will count today.

Issue 3 would have determined the expansion of the Arkansas medical marijuana program, but a decision made by the Arkansas Supreme Court just 15 days before the election.

Coined the The Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024, the issue remains on the ballot due to the signature verification ongoing through Aug. 22. This was until the 4-3 decision from the court to rule that the measure does not fully explain what it would do, taking it away from the voters to decide.

Associate Justice Shawn Womack wrote that the popular name only concerns medical purposes, but also seeks to legalize possession of marijuana for all purposes. 

With Issue 3 remaining on the ballot, many voters are confused whether or not to vote on the measure. 

Issue 2 also went under review by the Arkansas Supreme Court, with the ruling Oct. 17 for the votes to count. 

This amendment would require local voter approval for certain new casino licenses and repealing the authority to issue a casino license in Pope County, Arkansas.

Voting for Issue 2 means to be in favor of changing the state constitution and remove the Pope County casino gaming license. This would trigger a special election for any additional casino license requests to require approval from local voters.

The final ballot issue for Arkansas is Issue 1 which focuses on the disbursement of lottery money to Arkansas citizens enrolled in vocational-technical schools and technical institutes.

Supporters say that opening the lottery up to include vocational education helps fuel the original intent of the scholarship program. Opponents of Issue 1 are voters that believe the lottery scholarship system should not expand beyond private and public colleges and universities.

With over 50% of the votes for Arkansas in, each ballot issue can be called.

Issue 1 received 90% for with 429,021 votes and 10% against with 48,507 votes. For Issue 2, 55% of votes, a total of 262,327 voted for, and the remaining 45% voted against for a total of 212,316 votes.