Support for racino dips a bit, poll finds

Wednesday, February 18, 2004

By JOSHUA L. WEINSTEIN, Portland Press Herald Writer

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Mainers are divided just about in half on the issue of slot machines at race tracks, and if last November's election were to be repeated now, the result would be too close to call, according to a public opinion poll released Tuesday.

Brian Robertson, director of research for Market Decisions, a South Portland-based polling, research and strategy firm, said that 18 percent of the people who voted for racinos in November would vote against them now.

Of those who voted against racinos, 3 percent said they would now vote the other way.

The poll's results are a perfect flip of how people voted in November. The referendum question passed by 53 percent to 47 percent. The poll showed that if the question were put to voters now, 53 percent of the voters would oppose it and 47 would approve it.

The poll, however, has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percent. That means if the election were held today, it could go either way.

"One out of every two will be for," Robertson said, "and one out of every two will be against."

He said that "given the amount of coverage that has been in the press lately, I'm actually surprised that so many people did not switch, and what we are finding on this issue is that people have really made up their minds."

Dennis Bailey, a spokesman for Casinos No!, which opposes racinos, said the organization's polls have offered similar results.

He noted, however, that voters in Saco and Westbrook, which approved the racino question in November, voted against allowing racinos in their municipalities a month later.

"If you start giving people facts, which you didn't get in November, it loses by a wide margin," he said.

Racino proponents could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Staff Writer Joshua L. Weinstein can be contacted at 791-6368 or at: jweinstein@pressherald.com

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