It could cost as much as $2.3 million to hold a special election in March on whether Broward County voters want to allow slot machines at existing gambling venues such as racetracks and jai-alai frontons.County commissioners are set to decide Tuesday whether to put the measure on the ballot this spring, the same time many Broward cities hold municipal elections.
Florida voters in November passed Amendment 4, which authorized Broward and Miami-Dade counties to hold local gambling referendums. The measure squeaked through on Nov. 2 by 93,000 votes statewide. Now, Broward and Miami-Dade voters will determine whether seven parimutuels in the two counties can install Las Vegas-style slot machines.
Neither county is slated for a countywide election before 2006, so slots proponents are pushing for a special election. They're even considering one commissioner's request that they help pay for it. Broward County Commissioner Ilene Lieberman has asked that the pro-gambling group Yes for Local Control ante up the estimated $2.3 million cost.''We're talking about making some kind of voluntary contribution to the county,'' said lobbyist Ron Book, who represents Yes for Local Control.
Technically, pro-gambling groups can't pay for the election, Lieberman said. But she thinks they could give the county some sort of monetary contribution to defray the expense of a countywide vote.
''There's a first for everything,'' Lieberman said.
Technically, the money would go into the county's general fund, said Commissioner John Rodstrom. And even if the election expenses are covered by the pro-slots group, voters will still be making up their own minds, Rodstrom said.
''All they're doing is buying the opportunity to put it on the ballot,'' Rodstrom said.
Opponents of gambling say they've never heard of such an offer, but they question the timing of the election. The anti-gambling group No Casinos, led by state Rep. Randy Johnson, R-Celebration, still has a lawsuit pending against the Secretary of State over a request for a recount.
Plus, state lawmakers have until July 1 to pass legislation governing how the slot machines would be regulated, and they're not likely to take the issue up until the regular session begins in March. As a result, Broward voters would be voting on the concept of expanded slots without knowing the specifics, Johnson said.
''Wouldn't you want to see what you're getting before you buy it?'' he asked. ``I would just really question the wisdom of suggesting to the people of Broward County that they invite gambling into the county without understanding the rules that go along with it.''
Miami-Dade commissioners have not been as aggressive about getting the measure on the ballot, although Book said he is trying to get them to consider it at their Dec. 14 meeting.
First Assistant County Attorney Murray Greenburg said commissioners have not asked him to draft an ordinance yet.
Likewise, the elections department has not estimated what a special election would cost, said Seth Kaplan, spokesman for supervisor Constance Kaplan. The March presidential primary -- the most comparable election in size and scope -- cost $2.7 million.
Herald staff writer Noah Bierman contributed to this report.
