California gambling measures failing, millionaire tax for electric vehicles close, new poll finds
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds support for a range of ballot measures related to gambling, casino expansion, sports betting and new taxes on the wealthy. All but one of these initiatives is on the ballot this November:
— The Initiative and Referendum Process Act (also known as the I-Red Act), authorizing the state to pursue initiatives on the November ballot on topics such as marijuana legalization, tax increases on the wealthy and a constitutional amendment to legalize recreational marijuana;
— The Gambling Measure, which puts a new tax on slot machines, table games and sports betting at casinos;
— A constitutional amendment to legalize a variety of gaming opportunities, including horse racing, parimutuel wagering on the Texas Hold ‘Em, sports betting, and a new casino;
— A constitutional amendment to allow slot machine games to be played anywhere in the state;
— The Electric Vehicle Mobility Act, which would give priority to electric vehicles;
— A constitutional amendment to legalize the sale and use of marijuana;
— The New Casino Initiative, which would create a new, public, online casino that could be run by third-party companies; and
— The Tax Increase for the General Fund (TIGRF), which would raise $250 million a year through a levy on state income and sales tax revenues, and which is designed to raise money to cover the state’s unfunded pension, health and human services liabilities.
The new poll also shows that while support for many of these reforms remains relatively stable, support for the Gambling Measure is now down 5 points — down, by the numbers, by 6 percentage points among registered voters, to 46 percent in a September 2019 poll and down by 3 points among the poll’s likely voters.
By comparison, voter support for the TIGRF was at 51 percent in the September 2019 poll, up by 2 percentage points from a month earlier, while the I-Red Act had its support at 51 percent in the September 2019 poll, down by 1 percentage points from a month earlier.
