Most of the attention is on the top three questions on the ballot.
By Glenn Adams
Associated Press Writer

AUGUSTA – Campaigns for the top questions on Tuesday’s referendum ballot said they expected a larger-than-usual turnout for the off-year elections, but avoided making bold predictions on how their races will turn out.

Meanwhile, campaigns made their final appeals to voters across the state. In Augusta, chants of “Good jobs for Maine” echoed through the State House Hall of Flags, and later in the afternoon, Gov. John Baldacci joined no-casino troops for a rally in Sanford.

Maine voters will decide six questions on Tuesday’s ballot. They get three choices on a tax relief proposal at the top of the ballot, followed by up or down votes on whether to allow slot machines at commercial harness race tracks and a separate question on the $650 million Indian-run casino in Sanford.

In addition, voters will decide on three bond issues totaling nearly $90 million.

If campaign spending is any measure of voter interest, it is extraordinarily high, at least in the casino question. Late campaign spending reports showed nearly $10 million – a record in Maine – had been spent by the two opposing sides.

On Monday, the pro-casino group Think About dismissed a poll released during the weekend which suggested an erosion of support.

“People win elections, not polls,” said campaign spokeswoman Erin Lehane. “Our job now is to move people to the polls.” Gov. Barry Dana of the Penobscot Nation declared that the momentum was on the pro-casino side.

About 100 casino supporters gathered at the State House for a rally in which they held up signs calling for new jobs that would be created by the project. Maine AFL-CIO President Edward Gorham said the project was an opportunity for good-paying work as the state loses thousands of manufacturing jobs.

Casinos No! spokesman Dennis Bailey said the momentum had shifted to his side since the early summer when casino opponents lagged well behind pro-casino forces in some polls.

“I think it looks good for us,” Bailey said. “It feels right.”

Predictions by Bailey and other campaign leaders of a heavier-than-usual turnout squared with that of the state’s top election officer, Secretary of State Dan Gwadosky.

While the ballot features no federal or state candidates, compelling referendum questions sparked heavy media advertising. And turnout seems to be higher when television and radio advertising are the heaviest, Gwadosky said.

In the tax relief campaign, supporters question 1A, which would increase public school subsidies to 55 percent, professed optimism Monday that their message would resonate with taxpayers.

“We have the best ground game in terms of getting out the vote,” said campaign spokesman Dana Lee.

A spokeswoman for competing question 1B would make no predictions other than a heavier than usual turnout and that the outcome would be “pretty close.”

“It could be a late night,” said the 1B campaign’s Sue Bell.

During the weekend leading up to the election, automated messages from Gov. John Baldacci, former Gov. Angus King and other campaign advocates played on Mainers’ phones while campaign volunteers manned phone banks, canvassed their neighborhoods and passed out leaflets.

Supporters of the race track slots mounted a late barrage of radio ads, phonecalls and newspaper ads defending their proposal. Detractors have compared it to the Indian casino and called it a bad deal for the state.

AP-ES-11-03-03 1637EST

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