A proposal rejected by the Ohio Attorney General's Office to allow slot machines to operate at Ohio racetracks needs 322,899 signatures to be on the ballot in November.
The committee behind the Learn and Earn Initiative needs to collect these valid signatures from at least 44 of Ohio's 88 counties by no later than 90 days before the general election, according to the secretary of state's Web site.
David Hopcraft, a spokesman for the group, said it would hire 3,500 people to collect the signatures.
We feel very confident
Hopcraft said.
The Ohio constitutional amendment would place slot machines at Ohio's seven racetracks, as well as at two undetermined locations in Cleveland and at one in Cincinnati. The revenue would be used for scholarships and tuition grants for Ohio's current and future high school graduates who take advanced academic courses, participate in college-readiness programs and contribute to public life through voluntary civic activity.
The Ohio Learn and Earn Committee sent the proposed constitutional amendment to Jim Petro on March 24. His office originally rejected the proposal because the summary language did not meet standards, said Kim Norris, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.
We look at the language: simply whether it in fact states truthfully what the amendment is proposing
Norris said, adding that the Learn and Earn proposal was not truthfully explained.
In a letter to the committee members, Petro wrote: I am of the opinion that the summary is not a fair and truthful statement of the amendment to be proposed. I therefore cannot certify that summary.
The proposal was resubmitted April 24 and approved by Petro's office May 10. The disagreement was over some language in the amendment summary, which stated that gambling can occur 24 hours a day at the proposed sites, at the discretion of the facility owner.
If passed, 30 percent of funds earned by the machines would be used to fund scholarships and grants for students. An additional 8 percent would go to counties, townships and municipalities for economic development. Another 6 percent of revenues would go to the racetracks and 1 percent would be devoted to gambling addiction services ' which leaves 55 percent, as Hopcraft said, to buy equipment and manage the tracks. The latter amount was omitted from the text of the proposed amendment, though Hopcraft said the public knows what they're getting out of it.
Though gambling opponents came out against the act in its early stages, the year's other big political stories ' the governor's race, illegal immigration and rising gas prices ' have since overshadowed the issue. Several candidates did sound off about Ohio gambling during the primary campaigns.
Gubernatorial candidate Ted Strickland has said he would support gambling within Ohio's borders if he thought specific proposals merited authorization, while Republican candidate J. Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio's secretary of state, has said he opposes all gambling initiatives.
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Justin Thompson
