Slots to be on fall ballot

Associated Press

COLUMBUS

Ohio voters will get a chance to vote on whether they want electronic slot machines at the state’s hores racetracks.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner said Friday that the measure will go on the November general election ballot after the group LetOhioVote.org submitted the required number of valid signatures.

The legislature had approved a plan from Gov. Ted Strickland in July to allow the lottery-run slot machines to raise as much as $933 million to balance the state’s current two-year budget.

LetOhioVote argued that the issue should be subject to a referendum of voters, and the Ohio Supreme Court agreed.

The ruling stopped the state from moving forward with slots. Strickland and lawmakers delayed the final round of planned income tax cuts to plug the budget hole.

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