IDAHO VOTERS' PAMPHLET
Ballot Propositions To Be Voted On at the General Election November 5, 2002

Argument AGAINST Proposition One

APPROVAL OF PROPOSITION ONE WILL:

1. Legalize slot machines in Idaho contrary to the state constitution.

2. Allow the tribes to immediately build casinos on some off reservation lands.

3. Create legal arguments which could allow tribes to build casinos on any land which they acquire anywhere in the state.

4. Greatly increase the amount of money which gambling interests will spend to elect and influence Idaho legislators, governors and other public officials.

5. Open the door for major expansion of gambling in Idaho, just as has occurred in many other states where slot machines have been approved.

The Attorney General, in the required legal analysis of Proposition 1, requested the tribes to further define "Indian Lands." The tribes refused. If Proposition 1 passes, tribal casinos can be located on any lands which they owned outside the boundaries of the reservations at the time of passage of the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. This includes lands owned by the Sho Ban Tribe in the vicinity of Idaho State University. Proposition 1, also allows the tribes to argue before the legislature, and in future court proceedings, that Idaho law requires the Governor to approve casinos on any land purchased by the tribes anywhere in the state.

Slot machines generate huge sums of easy money as casinos divert consumer income from all other businesses. Most other states which have opened even a small crack in the casino door have been unable, over time, to prevent expansion as gambling interests pour money into elections for legislators, governors and other public officials.

Proposition 1 does much, much more than limit the tribes to a few video lottery machines for purposes of economic self sufficiency. Bigger interests than the tribes are behind this initiative. National and international companies which profit from gambling by sales of machines, management contracts and other services want part of the future action. In depth investigative studies of the gambling industry, of which U.S. Tribes are now a major component, show it to be secretive, highly sophisticated, enormously profitable with long term plans for expansion. Your vote will determine economic, social and cultural climate of our beautiful state far into the future.

Straight Talk - Gambling in Idaho, Inc.

Rebuttal to Argument Against Proposition One

PROP ONE KEEPS INDIAN GAMING ON RESERVATIONS – AND KEEPS JOBS AND REVENUES IN IDAHO.

Opponents of Prop One are spouting the same falsehoods and scare tactics that Nevada casinos have used to try to shut down Indian gaming in the past.

"Federal law controls the location of Indian gaming facilities – not state laws. Under federal law, Indian gaming is fundamentally limited to existing reservation land. Your vote on Prop One should not be based on the groundless claim that it would somehow allow Indian gaming outside of reservations. It won’t."

- Bob Huntley, Former Idaho State Supreme Court Justice

The truth is, Prop One does not and could not allow Indian gaming outside of reservations. And, the YES on One campaign is funded entirely by Idaho tribes and people.

In other words, as put by the Lewiston Tribune, Prop One’s opponents are "peddling misinformation." (Editorial, July 9, 2002)

IF PROP ONE IS DEFEATED, THE ONLY REAL WINNERS WOULD BE CASINOS IN NEARBY STATES.

A recent study by University of Idaho researchers found that Indian gaming in Idaho:

· Supports over 4,400 local jobs.

· Generates over $300 million in sales and wages annually.

· Generates over $10 million in state and local taxes each year.

If Idaho’s Indian gaming facilities shut down, these economic benefits would instead go to Nevada and Washington.

Let’s keep the jobs and revenues that Indian gaming provides in Idaho – by voting YES on One!

YES on ONE
The Idaho Coalition for Indian Self-Reliance

Arguments printed on this page are the opinions of the authors and have not been checked for accuracy by any official agency.