Mon Feb 13 2012
By Stephen Majors
Associated Press
COLUMBUS — Supporters and opponents of Ohio’s fifth gambling ballot question in 20 years are making a final push to get their voters out on Tuesday, an off-year election in which the turnout of specific voting blocs is especially important.
Conservative voters in southwest Ohio are being blanketed with robo-calls featuring the voice of former Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell, a prominent conservative who is asking Ohioans to defeat a gambling ballot issue for the fifth time.
U.S. Sen. George Voinovich said he hoped the Holy Spirit would inspire voters to come out in droves against a plan to put casinos in Ohio’s major cities.
Issue 3 would authorize casinos in Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo. Supporters, led by the Ohio Jobs and Growth Committee, promise 34,000 jobs and $650 million in annual tax revenue, primarily for local governments. Opponents say the proposed 33 percent tax rate and $50 million license fee for each casino is lower than in other states.
Another ballot issue mobilizing voters is a proposal to create a state board to oversee the care of livestock. The Ohio Farm Bureau, concerned about outside groups setting Ohio’s policy, has been communicating with its 235,000 members. Over the weekend, volunteers were out in major cities dropping off literature on doorsteps supporting Issue 2.
“It’s just been really exciting to see the immense enthusiasm from the farming community on this issue,” said Ohio Farm Bureau spokesman Joe Cornely. “I’ve been in this business over 30 years and I’ve seen farmers fired up about things in the past — but nothing like this.”
The Humane Society of the United States, which believes the board will protect the interests of agriculture and ignore animal rights, has hundreds of thousands of people in Ohio on its mailing lists, said Chief Operating Officer Michael Markarian. It has been urging them to vote ’no.’
“We’re not putting a lot of money into this effort because we expect that if Issue 2 passes we will just follow up with our own effort to just achieve some basic humane reform for farm animals,” Markarian said.
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