Did anyone have any local propositions or laws that came to a vote last night? Here in California, we saw the culmination of $120 million spent on the pro and con side of an Indian gaming expansion. For weeks we were bombarded by neatly printed fliers telling us to vote yes on Props 94-97, which would allow the four largest and wealthiest gaming tribes to build huge add-ons to their slot machine areas, with a portion of their revenue going to the state. The deals were endorsed by the Governor and the state needs the money, but I voted no on all four when I read an article about how the biggest tribe, Pechanga, has disenrolled a large portion of their membership, including members who helped negotiate the original Indian gaming deals a few years ago, so tribal leaders could increase their share of the profits. I couldn't abide that. They passed anyway.
When I got my California voter booklet, I chuckled when the "Pro" side for Prop 91 told us to vote No, as the law had already been passed as something else. There wasn't even an argument on the "Con" side. I laughed when I found out that it got something like 45% Yes votes. Guess no one reads those booklets.
^Propositions are deliberately worded to confuse people. They should've taking the freakin' thing off the ballot.
