Posted: 11/12/04
Florida voters narrowly approve call for
local referenda on legalized slot machines
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (ABP)– Though voters nationwide defeated most attempts to expand gambling Nov. 2, another razor-thin Florida vote count could bring slot machines to the state.
By a margin of 50.6 percent to 49.4 percent–or 3,606,045 to 3,524,019 votes–Florida voters approved an amendment to authorize two South Florida counties to hold referenda on whether to allow slot machines in existing parimutuel facilities.
Initial reports Nov. 3 said the slot-machine amendment had been narrowly defeated. But a later vote count showed supporters had eked out a victory.
Gambling opponents in Florida immediately cried foul when a South Florida TV station reported Nov. 4 that a glitch in Broward County software had resulted in a massive undercount of absentee ballots.
When the counting was done, an additional 78,000 votes had appeared, with 90 percent of them voting in favor of the amendment.
“Clearly, these new results are highly questionable,” said Carey Theil, an activist and slot-machine opponent. “We have reacted immediately, and rest assured that Amendment 4 opponents are preparing legal action now.”
All requests for a recount were denied, according to gambling opponents. An automatic recount would be triggered if the margin of victory was less than 0.5 percent. The final count showed a difference of about 0.8 percent.
The amendment does not immediately authorize slot machines in horse-racing, dog-racing and jai alai facilities but only allows residents of Broward and Miami-Dade counties to consider the possibility.
Taxes on the proceeds from the machines are supposed to benefit education.
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