State, Tribes Disagree On Slot Machine Vote

The attorney general says an initiative to legalize slot machines at Indian casinos must garner at least 60 percent of the vote in November in order to pass legal muster.

The tribal backers of Initiative 671 don’t agree with the nonbinding opinion, and a court fight is virtually guaranteed should the proposal pass with a simple majority but less than 60 percent of the vote, both sides agreed Tuesday.

Attorney General Christine Gregoire, in a written opinion, said the Washington Constitution requires that statutes permitting all forms of gambling receive a 60 percent vote, either by the Legislature, or in the case of an initiative, by voters.

She also asserts that a body of federal case law demonstrates that federal law regulating Indian gambling does not preempt state constitutional restrictions on gambling, including the voter-margin authorizing gambling.

Doreen Maloney, a spokeswoman for the initiative campaign, Tribes for Responsible Gaming, said the tribes are well aware of the state’s position, and would anticipate a legal fight if passage of the measure fell short of 60 percent.

“Right now, we’re working to get the initiative passed. We’re not fighting that issue now, but we’re well aware of it,” she said.

Gregoire bases her opinion on Article 2, Section 24, of the state constitution. It says “Lotteries shall be prohibited except as specifically authorized upon the affirmative vote of 60 percent of the members of each house of the Legislature or, notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution, by referendum or initiative approved by a 60 percent affirmative vote of the electors voting thereon.”

Gregoire observed in her opinion that previous court rulings have established that word ‘lotteries’ means “mechanical lotteries” such as slot machines.

Initiative backers, who failed last year to win anywhere near 50 percent of the vote for a gambling-expansion measure, know that a 60 percent requirement would be a big blow.