The Osage River Gaming & Convention Committee wants a judge to anul a decision by the Missouri secretary of state’s office that its initiative petition to develop a casino close to Lake of the Ozarksdid not qualify for the statewide ballot because it was short 2,031 signatures in the 2nd Congressional District.
Whilst the petition collected enough signatures in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 7th districts, the 2nd district fell short. Osage River Gaming, which comprise RIS Inc. and Bally’s, says though that it has identified more than 2,500 valid signatures that were rejected and should have been included in the 2nd District count.
“Verifying every signature on multiple initiative petitions this summer has been a very long process for election officials and we realize mistakes happen,” the group said in a statement announcing the lawsuit. “However, (Osage River Gaming & Convention) has always been confident their initiative petition contained a sufficient number of valid signatures from legal voters to qualify for placement on the Nov. 5 general election ballot and are now asking the court to do so.”
The proposal needs a change to the Missouri Constitution to permit a casino on the Osage River between Bagnell Dam and the Missouri River. Currently casinos are only allowed along the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. It also requires the state restriction on 13 casinos to be increased.