Till The Fat Lady Sings

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Well, ballots were cast, but it just ain’t over. 

Bloggers around the state have been jumping to proclaim victory for table games since Saturday night.  I’ve been holding off, thinking about what just happened, trying to contact the Oracle for the answer.

Thirty-three votes are all that give the pro-gambling expansion the nod over the anti-gambling expansion.  There are 500 provisional votes to be reviewed.  County Clerk Vera McCormick says those are challenged ballots.  If they are challenged because someone voted out of precint then their vote don’t count.  [Yes, I know, bad grammar.]  I thought ALL votes were supposed to count?  At least isn’t that why we were forced into new voting machines at a gazillion dollars?  If it’s a single issue, why does it matter if you vote in your precint as long as you don’t vote more than once?

Thirty-three votes.  Damn.  That’s closer than Bush-Gore or Bush-Kerry.  Does that mean the Vote Yes crowd “stole” the election?  It did for a President, it must for gambling.

When I look into the crystal I see dark times coming.

Our community (Kanawha County) is deeply divided.  No politician should stand up and say that this election is a mandate for this type of ‘economic development’, because it isn’t.   The people want development, but they don’t agree on whether gambling should be it.  For as long as it is up, here are the unofficial results.

KANAWHA COUNTY SPECIAL TABLE GAME ELECTION
AUGUST 11, 2007

(UNOFFICIAL TOTALS)

DISTRICT	REGISTERED VOTERS	FOR	AGAINST	TOTAL BALLOTS VOTED	PERCENT
1	31,017	4,889	4,875	9,764	100.00%
2	32,913	6,817	5,564	12,381	100.00%
3	31,468	6,148	6,724	12,872	100.00%
4	30,297	4,690	5,348	10,038	100.00%
TOTALS	125,695	22,544	22,511	45,055

PRECINCTS COUNTED	175
PRECINCTS REPORTED	100.00%
FOR	50.04%	22,544	Total number of votes
AGAINST	49.96%	22,511	Total number of votes

 Saturday, August 11, 2007      11:09:22 PM

District 1  - Precinct 103-145 Precinct 147-179

District 2 - Precinct 202-258  Precinct 260-298

District 3 - Precinct 302-351  Precinct 352-379

District 4 - Precinct 401-420  Precinct 421-441

I haven’t seen things this divided since the Kanawha County School Book Controversy in 1974.  At least we have become a little more civilized in our disagreements. 

His announcement came after Sheriff G. Kemp Melton said the county’s approximately 50 deputies could no longer cope with the school text book crisis without help from other law enforcement agencies.

The sheriff said 40 men in riot gear in the East Bank-Belle area were dispatched early Thursday to deal with reported incidents of rock throwing and other types of violence. 

 I wasn’t allowed to attend school once picketts went up.  I was born a coal-miner’s daughter.  Although I don’t agree with the violence that eventually surfaced, people had a lot more passion back then.  The Unions stood for families. Now they seem to stand for whatever gets them the most money.

Ok, let me get back on topic.  We won’t know the final outcome on this election for some time yet.  The ballots will be canvassed and, like so many others, I suspect a recount will be called for, especially if the Vote Yes side loses.  The Vote No crew will be hard pressed to challenge the final numbers.  According to today’s Charleston Gazette:

Tri-State Racetrack and Gaming Resort paid for the referendum upfront, an estimated $250,000, Carper said. A recount could cost between $7,500 and $15,000 and could take a week or two, he said.

Kinda makes it hard on the poor folk who don’t support table games.

That same article also says: “It appears there was a very heavy number of people voting who were not registered,” he said. “Those are illegal ballots. You can’t count them even if you want to.”

Hmmm, votes not counting.

This is a very obvious sign that we are entering troubling times.  With the count being so closely 50/50 what happens as time progresses?  Will there be a mass exodus from the Western Kanawha County to the Eastern Kanawha County [or Lincoln County] as people run from the increased traffic and crime that will follow the money? 

Or, will there be a continued erosion of the Eastern Kanawha County as our best and brightest, Promise Scholarship students swarm Cross Lanes in hopes of landing the $6.00 per hour + tips job that equal $35,000 jobs?

I’ve got to give this more thought.  The crystal is hazy with unsettled dust.  Whether the dust is a result of the canvass that awaits, or an omen of the unsettled times we are about to face I’m not quite sure.

You may read more opinions on Change WV, Lincoln Walks at Midnight and Don Surber.

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