ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A poll released today shows 76 percent of likely Florida voters support an amendment that would require voter approval to authorize casino gambling in the state. The measure, known as the Voter Control of Gambling amendment, will appear on the November ballot as Amendment 3.
When initially asked about the amendment, 76 percent of respondents supported it compared to 19 percent in opposition. After hearing a balanced dose of arguments both for and against Amendment 3, support for the measure increased to 84 percent with only 14 percent opposed.
The survey asked the actual language of Amendment 3 that will appear on the November ballot, which is considered the most reliable method of testing ballot measures. It found strong support for Amendment 3 regardless of age, geography, ideology, ethnicity or party affiliation.
“For nearly a century, it was voters, not politicians, who decided whether to authorize casino gambling in our state,” said John Sowinski, Chairman of Voters In Charge, the group sponsoring the amendment. “Voters overwhelmingly support Amendment 3 because it will return control of casino gambling decisions back to the people, rather than gambling lobbyists and Tallahassee politicians.”
The survey also suggests that legislators could have a political price to pay if they vote to authorize casino gambling without a statewide referendum. Seventy-three percent of voters said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate for office that “supports legalizing Las Vegas style casinos without requiring that it first be approved by a statewide vote of the people” while only 23 percent are more likely. This animosity towards casino authorization without statewide voter approval unites Republicans and Democrats. Seventy-one percent of likely GOP primary voters and 72 percent of likely Democratic primary voters said they would be less likely to support candidates who would vote to expand casino gambling without statewide voter approval.
The survey was conducted by Hill Research Consultants from January 24 through 28. A total of 1,235 interviews were completed by voters who are likely to vote in Florida’s November 2018 General Election. 622 of these were phone interviews, half of which were to landline numbers, and the other half mobile phones. Additionally, 613 online interviews were conducted.
The margin of error for the survey is +/- 2.9% at the 95% confidence level.
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