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Kentucky Survey Shows Voters Favour Gambling To Ease Budget Woes

Posted on May 11th, 2010

In a poll conducted in Kentucky, a greater percentage of potential voters give an unfavourable assessment of the lawmakers’performance and say they support the proposal to expand gambling at horse race tracks as a way to bring in money to the state. The survey was commissioned by the Lexington Herald-Leader, WKTY-TV and WAVE-TV in Louisville and done by Research 2000 of Olney, Md., on May 2-4. It has an allowance of error of plus or minus four percent.

The survey was made through telephone and asked 600 possible voters. It bared that 61 percent do not approve of the way the legislators do their jobs, while only 26 percent approve of the legislature’s accomplishment. The General Assembly’s annual session was brought to a close on April 15 without a two-year spending plan in place.

The proposal of Gov. Steve Beshear to allow slots at race tracks was also the most preferred means of the majority of the surveyed voters to close the budget gap, among the four choices offered, three of which included cuts to education and health programs, applying the sales tax to more services and clearing tax ambiguities for businesses. Forty-five percent of the surveyed voters said lawmakers should pass legislation to add slots at tracks in order to generate additional revenue to fix the budget deficit. A combined thirty percent of those surveyed chose the three other options, and 25 percent did not give sure answers.

Gov. Behsear refused to comment on the legislature’s low approval rating, and although the survey showed a support for expanded gambling, he said the issue will not be taken up in a special legislative session in May to discuss the state budget. “As repeated polls have shown, including this one, Kentuckians overwhelmingly support this revenue-producing option over severe cuts to needed programs and to support our struggling industry,” Beshear said. Many legislators were not surprised by the voters’ backing for slots rather than the other methods to recover budget shortfall, and the constituents’ poor evaluation of their job and were even expecting the voters to be more disapproving.

Rep. Bill Farmer, R-Lexington, said “I would expect 100 percent disapproval because we had a job to do and we didn’t do it.” House Speaker Greg Stumbo, D-Prestonsburg said the poll results showed that the voters support the House budget plan. In a statement, Stumbo said, “It shows the vast majority of voters in Kentucky are not in favor of cutting education and critical health care programs.” He said the public has asserted that it wants slots. A bill authorizing slot machines at the state’s race tracks passed the House last summer, but was rejected by the Senate budget committee.