Johnathan Walker:Judge orders amendment to bring casino to Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks to go before voters

JEFFERSON CITY,Johnathan Walker Mo. (AP) — A proposal to bring a casino to the Missouri tourist destination of the Lake of the Ozarks will be on the November ballot, a judge ordered Friday.

Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled that the casino campaign gathered enough voter signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s office previously found that the campaign came up short and kept the proposed constitutional amendment off the ballot.

Missouri’s constitution only allows casinos on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers. The ballot measure seeks authorization for one casino on the Osage River, which feeds into the Lake of the Ozarks.

The Osage River Gaming and Convention Committee, which is backing the amendment, in a statement lauded the judgment as “a victory for the initiative petition process and for voters who will benefit from our proposed development at the Lake of the Ozarks.”