Richmond Casino Opponents Gain Access to Voter Information in Legal Battle
Opponents who fight building a new casino in Richmond, Virginia were successful in their federal lawsuit, making the state Board of Elections give out contact details for the city's registered voters.
Local campaigner Paul Goldman, the founder of No Means No Casino, sued the electoral board earlier this year as he claimed that he wasn't provided with the usual voter lists given to political candidates and committees. Initially, the case was brought up in city court, but it was moved to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for a trial that took place last week.
A federal judge commanded the board to share a list of voters who had balloted in the last election. As per state law, such lists can be provided to particular qualified organizations or groups, which include candidates for elections, political action committees, and nonprofits promoting voter participation.
Richmond city officials are supporting the $562 million casino project backed by Urban One, a Maryland-based mass media conglomerate with a focus on the African American community, as well as Churchill Downs, a Kentucky-based business that oversees racing and gambling. The city's residents disagreed on a similar proposal two years ago, and another close vote might occur this time.
Discussions ‘Underway’
Additionally, the judge instructed Goldman and the Elections Board to negotiate a solution regarding Goldman's access to separate lists of all registered voters in Richmond.
These lists enable organizations to contact possible voters prior to elections. Goldman, however, said he couldn't get the information without allowing his proposed communication to be reviewed.
Virginia Elections Commissioner Susan Beals informed the court earlier this month that the board didn't aim to review Goldman's potential communications before they were distributed.
Goldman informed early Monday afternoon that negotiations with the board on the registered voters list were ongoing. A representative for the Board of Elections didn't respond promptly to a request for comment.
Early Voting Already Underway
This ruling came after thousands of Richmond residents already cast their ballot in this year's elections. Early voting in Virginia commenced on September 22, and 7,400 votes had been cast in Richmond by Sunday, states the Virginia Public Access Project.
In the 2019 election, 105,268 votes were cast on the Richmond casino referendum, with 26,275 votes being cast before Election Day. This year, with a less competitive governor's race in Virginia, turnout is likely to be lower.
Early voters tend to support the casino more, especially those that voted in person. The vote-by-mail early Voters broke narrowly in favor of the casino (50.2% to 49.8%), while in-person early voters supported the proposal by 54%-to-46%.
Election Day voters went against the casino slightly, 51% to 49%, just like its overall defeat.
Precincts situated on Richmond's South Side, close to the projected casino location, were more likely to favor the plan when compared to those in the city's north.
Urban One and Churchill Downs are investing more than $8 million into defending the ballot measure this year, and its supporters are arranging free Uber rides to encourage voting.
Goldman mentioned that his group has around $200,000 to spend on reversing the referendum, noting that this has been intensified by the delay in receiving the voter lists. https://www.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/virginia/vaedce/2:2021cv00307/536/68/
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Source: www.casino.org
