Campaign to put amendment on the ballot over halfway towards petition goal

Orlando, Fla. – Over 600,000 Florida voters have gone on record in support of taking gambling decisions away from politicians and giving them back to the people. The Voters In Charge committee today announced that it is over halfway towards its goal of gathering 1.1 million signatures in order to reach the required number of 766,200 valid petitions to appear on the 2018 General Election ballot.

“Tens of thousands of Floridians are signing our petition each week and we are on track to accomplish our goal of securing enough signatures for ballot placement by year’s end,” said Voters in Charge Chairman John Sowinski. “We look forward to being on the 2018 ballot, mounting an aggressive statewide campaign and returning the ultimate authority to approve casino gambling to the people of Florida where it belongs.”

The Voter Control of Gambling Amendment would require those pressing for casino gambling to make their case to Florida voters in an open and public forum through a constitutional initiative. The amendment, which was originally developed for legislative consideration, consistently polls near 70% approval. The ballot summary is as follows:

“This amendment ensures that Florida voters shall have the exclusive right to decide whether to authorize casino gambling by requiring that in order for casino gambling to be authorized under Florida law, it must be approved by Florida voters pursuant to Article XI, Section 3 of the Florida Constitution. Affects articles X and XI. Defines casino gambling and clarifies that this amendment does not conflict with federal law regarding state/tribal compacts.”

As of October 2, 274,282 petitions have been certified by local Supervisors of Elections, according to totals posted on the Florida Division of Election’s website.

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