Jacob Ogles
A Florida Chamber of Commerce poll obtained by Florida Politics shows a solid majority of voters favor a constitutional amendment aimed at limiting gambling by leaving decisions on casinos to voters.
Some 54 percent of voters surveyed plan to vote “yes” on Amendment 3, which would allow for voters in the future exclusively to authorize new casino gambling through citizen-initiated ballot measures.
The poll shows another 28 percent plan to vote “no” while 18 percent of voters remain undecided.
Supporters of the measure promote it would put “Voters in Charge” instead of the Florida Legislature and “gambling lobbyists.” The measure already boasts endorsements from the Florida Chamber and the League of Women Voters of Florida.
The pro-3 Voters in Charge organization also enjoyed a heavy infusion of cash this month from Disney and from the Seminole Tribe of Florida, which owns the Hard Rock chain. Both donated $5 million a piece to Voters in Charge in September, according to ClickOrlando.com.
While the Chamber poll shows a majority favor the ballot measure, constitutional amendments must be supported by 60 percent of voters in order to pass.
Based on the poll results, if only those voters with an opinion on the measure already weigh in on passage, the amendment would pass with 66 percent of the vote. But if undecided voters break against the measure, passage could prove dicey.
The Florida Chamber Poll was conducted Sept. 19-24 and received responses from 622 voters, 41.5 percent of whom were registered Democrats, 40.5 percent were Republicans and 18 percent did not belong to one of the major parties. The poll has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.
A poll taken by Hill Research Consultants two months ago showed 71 percent of voters planning to vote “Yes” of Amendment 3, with 18 percent planning to vote “No” and the remainder undecided.
6 comments
paul
October 1, 2018 at 6:19 pm
casinos /gambling will have florida remain with no state tax etc.a real benefit for the many retirees here
Norman Grove
October 2, 2018 at 7:54 pm
To allow competitive casinos like MGM, Hollywood, Sands etc the best opportunity to open new casinos / resorts in the state of Florida, how should voters vote yes or no.
Joe D
October 3, 2018 at 12:49 pm
What makes you think that Amendment 3 will allow competition in the casino industry? The main supporters seem to be Disney, No Casinos, Inc. and the Seminole tribe. Do you honestly believe that the Seminole tribe wants to make it easier for a competitor to open a casino?
It appears to sounds great that the Amendment will give the power to the people. What does that involve? It means that someone who wants to build a casino must go out and collect signatures of 8% of the people statewide that voted in the previous election. Then the measure will appear on a ballot to be voted on. Just the cost and logistics of collecting the signatures would be a huge cost that most companies would not bother with. If the sponsors of this Amendment simply wanted to make it easier for a city to open a casino the Amendment could have been crafted to say that gambling in the State of Florida is legal subject to approval of the political subdivision where the proposed casino will be located. This appears to be nothing more than an effort to make it nearly impossible to open a new casino in Florida.
Norman Grove
October 3, 2018 at 2:02 pm
Joe D., thanks for your feedback to my previous question concerning amendment 3 and how it’s structured. It appears to me that amendment 3 is structured to protect the Seminole casinos and make it almost impossible for out of state casinos from setting up business in the state of Florida. I believe in fair marketing and it appears to me, the Seminole casinos want to control 100% of the casino industry in the state of Florida. I will be voting NO on amendment 3.
Cory
October 14, 2018 at 2:24 am
Amendment 3 is written to fool the voters. We already have the power locally to decide what we have.
Amendment 3 will change this. Government corruption at its finest here allowing the wording of this amendment.
VOTE NO!!! Don’t be fooled.
Amanda dhutchinson
October 14, 2018 at 2:28 am
Amendment 3 is funded by Disney and the seminoles. Disney would prefer NO casinos, but since they can’t ban Indian casinos this is the next best thing for them. It’s obvious why the seminoles would be backing this amendment, no competition. They want a monopoly.
Sorry but the seminoles shouldn’t be given a monopoly, and Disney doesn’t own Florida. If grown people want to gamble then let them…
VOTE NO ON 3.
Not even going to mention the money the education system will be losing if this passes. Hundreds of millions. Annually.
Vote no.
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