City Desk » maryland slots

Maryland Slots Vote: Tightening!

Mark Athitakis — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 23:13:04 +0000

Maybe! Maryland is a confusing place! Anything could happen! The Gazette reports:

"We've always believed the Maryland public was quite malleable on slots," [political consultant G. Keith] Haller said. "There was never really a solid majority for support for slots, even when you added all the inducements. I wouldn't be surprised if it wound up nip and tuck."

Will Black Turnout Matter in the Slots Vote?

Mark Athitakis — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 21:16:17 +0000

In the days leading up to the election, conventional wisdom has dictated that Maryland slots are pretty much a done deal—a poll conducted by the Washington Post last month found that 62 percent of likely voters support the proposed amendment to the state constitution. But there's a some confusion about how much support slots has. To wit:

Baltimore Business Journal's poll put the breakdown at 50 percent for, 45 percent against.

A survey by an Annapolis-based polling firm in September put it at 49 percent for, 43 against.

On Sunday the Washington Times reported on a Zogby poll that put it at 45 percent for, 48 against.

There are good reasons not to give that last poll a lot of weight. For one thing, it was sponsored by an anti-slots group, StopSlotsMaryland (following the lead of a poll sponsored by a pro-slots group that called a blowout in its favor). Also, it was a Zogby Interactive poll, which nobody trusts. But the Times story does bring up an interesting potential wrinkle:

Critics of Internet polling have questioned its track record, but slots opponents say this poll likely underplays the "Obama" effect, which would result in a larger turnout among black voters in Maryland.

"We think that bounce, or that buoyancy favors opposition to slots," said Shawnta Walcott, former communications director for Zogby Polling.

If you take the Post poll at face value, Walcott may have a point—67 percent of likely white voters in that poll support slots, versus 54 percent of likely black votes. So if black turnout is anything like Walcott suggests, slots still win—just by a much narrower margin than the Post expected.

P.G. County Update

Mark Athitakis — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 18:33:09 +0000

My digital camera picked a very excellent day to die its last. Just as I snapped a photo of a very long line outside Gladys Noon Spellman Elementary School in Cheverly, Md.—one of two very long lines, in fact—my camera's power button decided to go on the fritz. So, to get an idea of what was happening, looking at any Web site covering the election. It'll show a long line. What I saw was a lot like that. A poll worker at the school told me that my precinct has more that 1,700 registered voters; about 500 of them had already voted by 10 a.m.

At any rate, the Gazette does a nice job covering the chatter in those lines, particularly the second-most-interesting choice in Maryland, the proposed amendment to allow slot machines in the state. This is a matter best pondered in a folding chair while eating cereal. Just ask Charles Glasgow of Adelphi:

Charles Glasgow of Adelphi said he always votes, but he was especially looking forward to voting for U.S. Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

"I'm very excited," Glasgow said.

Glasgow waited in line early this morning sitting in a folding chair, eating cereal. He was prepared for the wait due to media reports about high expected turnout. In previous elections, he has voted without a wait.

Glasgow said he planned to vote against the slots proposal.

"Nobody's going to benefit from it, except the people that own the machines," Glasgow said.