Voters won't be given a say next year on whether Wyoming should join the multi-state Powerball lottery.
The Joint Travel Committee voted 8-4 Thursday against sponsoring a bill that would have put a nonbinding referendum on the 2006 ballot.
Opponents were reluctant to endorse a public vote that ultimately doesn't force any legislative action.
Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, said the issue of establishing a lottery should be decided by lawmakers, not in a nonbinding vote by the electorate.
"It's a cop-out," he said. "We were elected to make those decisions."
He also feared unleashing a series of nonbinding votes.
"It is just an endless morass that we are causing," Brown said.
Sen. Tony Ross, R-Cheyenne, agreed.
"We're trying to get some sense of what the voters are thinking. I already have a sense of what my constituents think," he said. "This is a silly expenditure of money."
Rep. Pat Childers, R-Cody, committee co-chairman, supported the measure because of doubts about Wyomingites' feelings on gambling, even though 69 percent voted against giving counties the authority to approve limited-stakes casinos in 1994.
"They didn't say no to Powerball. They said no to casino gambling," Childers said. "I think it's an issue that needs to be cleared up by the voters."
Rep. Wayne Reese, D-Cheyenne, an ardent supporter of a lottery, offered an amendment to make the public vote binding until a staffer told him that only members of the public can sponsor a binding referendum, not the Legislature.
Rep. Bill Thompson, D-Green River, said the measure is pointless because the Legislature has ultimate authority anyway.
"Duh," he said, to laughter.
Sen. Bruce Burns, R-Sheridan, the other co-chairman, argued that if the measure is defeated on a two-thirds introductory vote in the 2006 budget session, it could hurt the chances of a lottery bill passing in the 2007 general session by offering opponents another negative vote to highlight.
"I would rather it have a fresh start," he said.
Childers and Reese were joined by Sen. Mike Massie, D-Laramie, and Rep. Kathy Davison, R-Kemmerer, in supporting the bill.
Lottery bills narrowly failed in each of the last two sessions.
Also Thursday, the panel voted 7-5 against resurrecting legislation that was vetoed by Gov. Dave Freudenthal in the 2005 session.
The bill would have authorized "Instant Racing" machines, which allow bettors to wager on video replays of historic horse races.
The committee unanimously endorsed two measures.
One would require fingerprinting of people who apply to stage pari-mutuel betting events. The other would set up a state gaming commission to regulate manufacturers and operators of legal gambling contests.
From the article:
Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, said the issue of establishing a lottery should be decided by lawmakers, not in a nonbinding vote by the electorate.
"It's a cop-out," he said. "We were elected to make those decisions."
___________________________________________________________________________________
There's the problem. Where is it written that we elect these idiots to make decisions for us?
This is a dangerous yet common misconception among our lawmakers, and they need to be re-educated; we don't elect them to "make these decisions," we elect them to represent our interests - those of the general populace.
If the people of Wyoming want PowerBall in their state, they'll vote it in with a referendum vote; if they have no such desire, they will make that known as well, but their voices MUST be heard. It seems to me that Wyoming legislators are salivating for the money the MUSL would bring to their state, but they don't want to take the time necessary to allow the public to ring in on the issue, or they don't want to take the chance that it will be voted down.
Here is Mr. Brown's royal email address: kermitbrown@wyoming.com. Please take a few minutes and let him know your thoughts.
Politicians don't like referendums; it makes then feel like "the voters" are working around them, bypassing them...which is true. There is no purer form of democracy that a direct voter referendum. Switzerland is the most purely democratic nation in the world today due to their habitual direct voter referendums where EVERYONE votes on an issue. I heard some news reporter call the USA the world's oldest democracy.He was wrong -the Swiss Conferderation is the oldest democracy, formed centuries before the American Republic. Power to the People!
Rep. Kermit Brown, R-Laramie, said the issue of establishing a lottery should be decided by lawmakers, not in a nonbinding vote by the electorate.
"It's a cop-out," he said. "We were elected to make those decisions."
=======================
See, this sums up the problem I have with elected politicians. I don't vote for someone so that he/she can make their decisions for me. I can make my own decisions, thank you very much.
Their job is to run things according to how the majority of the electorate want them run.
WE ARE NOT SHEEP !
you guys must think this is 1940's America--people no longer have a voice like they did back then!!!The politicians forget that America belongs to the people!!!
If we had more referendumas and less politicians people would be better off.
Say What? What about of the people, for the people, BY THE PEOPLE??
If we had more referendumas and less politicians people would be better off.
Now that is something the spend-crazy pols don't ever seem to want to address. Hmmm...I wonder why?
If we had more referendumas and less politicians people would be better off.
Now that is something the spend-crazy pols don't ever seem to want to address. Hmmm...I wonder why?
Voting directly from you PC at home? Now, that's Democracy In Action.
(There's talk of the concept already...the politicians are getting nervous.)
Politicians don't like referendums; it makes then feel like "the voters" are working around them, bypassing them...which is true. There is no purer form of democracy that a direct voter referendum. Switzerland is the most purely democratic nation in the world today due to their habitual direct voter referendums where EVERYONE votes on an issue. I heard some news reporter call the USA the world's oldest democracy.He was wrong -the Swiss Conferderation is the oldest democracy, formed centuries before the American Republic. Power to the People!
We are NOT a democracy!!!!! We are a REPUBLIC. Big difference
Politicians don't like referendums; it makes then feel like "the voters" are working around them, bypassing them...which is true. There is no purer form of democracy that a direct voter referendum. Switzerland is the most purely democratic nation in the world today due to their habitual direct voter referendums where EVERYONE votes on an issue. I heard some news reporter call the USA the world's oldest democracy.He was wrong -the Swiss Conferderation is the oldest democracy, formed centuries before the American Republic. Power to the People!
Actually, didn't the Greeks form the first true Democracy?
Politicians don't like referendums; it makes then feel like "the voters" are working around them, bypassing them...which is true. There is no purer form of democracy that a direct voter referendum. Switzerland is the most purely democratic nation in the world today due to their habitual direct voter referendums where EVERYONE votes on an issue. I heard some news reporter call the USA the world's oldest democracy.He was wrong -the Swiss Conferderation is the oldest democracy, formed centuries before the American Republic. Power to the People!
Actually, didn't the Greeks form the first true Democracy?
Democracy comes from the Greek philospoher/statesman Democratis from Athens. The Greeks invented democracy; but the Swiss Confederation is the oldest still functioning Democracy in the world today. The Greeks fell into tyrany and monarchy after a while. So, you are correct about the Greeks and I am correct about the Swiss.
Politicians don't like referendums; it makes then feel like "the voters" are working around them, bypassing them...which is true. There is no purer form of democracy that a direct voter referendum. Switzerland is the most purely democratic nation in the world today due to their habitual direct voter referendums where EVERYONE votes on an issue. I heard some news reporter call the USA the world's oldest democracy.He was wrong -the Swiss Conferderation is the oldest democracy, formed centuries before the American Republic. Power to the People!
We are NOT a democracy!!!!! We are a REPUBLIC. Big difference
A subtle but important distinction; political scientists refer to the USA as a Democratic Republic. The voters elect Representatives to govern on our behalf. Good idea most of the time, but special interests and corruption sometimes cloud the operation of our Representative form of Government. The Swiss are much more Democratic than we are. The population votes on all important national issues with a binding direct referendum. Issues like immigration,membership in international organiazations (UN, EU) and national defense issues are decided by direct referendum, not buy elected representatives. Special interests have less corrupting power that way. WE could use more referendums on every level of government. Also in most Democratic Republics voting is mandatory.( Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand etc.)
Politicians don't like referendums; it makes then feel like "the voters" are working around them, bypassing them...which is true. There is no purer form of democracy that a direct voter referendum. Switzerland is the most purely democratic nation in the world today due to their habitual direct voter referendums where EVERYONE votes on an issue. I heard some news reporter call the USA the world's oldest democracy.He was wrong -the Swiss Conferderation is the oldest democracy, formed centuries before the American Republic. Power to the People!
We are NOT a democracy!!!!! We are a REPUBLIC. Big difference
A subtle but important distinction; political scientists refer to the USA as a Democratic Republic. The voters elect Representatives to govern on our behalf. Good idea most of the time, but special interests and corruption sometimes cloud the operation of our Representative form of Government. The Swiss are much more Democratic than we are. The population votes on all important national issues with a binding direct referendum. Issues like immigration,membership in international organiazations (UN, EU) and national defense issues are decided by direct referendum, not buy elected representatives. Special interests have less corrupting power that way. WE could use more referendums on every level of government. Also in most Democratic Republics voting is mandatory.( Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand etc.)
Where voting is compulsory, can you vote for "none of the above"?
Politicians don't like referendums; it makes then feel like "the voters" are working around them, bypassing them...which is true. There is no purer form of democracy that a direct voter referendum. Switzerland is the most purely democratic nation in the world today due to their habitual direct voter referendums where EVERYONE votes on an issue. I heard some news reporter call the USA the world's oldest democracy.He was wrong -the Swiss Conferderation is the oldest democracy, formed centuries before the American Republic. Power to the People!
We are NOT a democracy!!!!! We are a REPUBLIC. Big difference
A subtle but important distinction; political scientists refer to the USA as a Democratic Republic. The voters elect Representatives to govern on our behalf. Good idea most of the time, but special interests and corruption sometimes cloud the operation of our Representative form of Government. The Swiss are much more Democratic than we are. The population votes on all important national issues with a binding direct referendum. Issues like immigration,membership in international organiazations (UN, EU) and national defense issues are decided by direct referendum, not buy elected representatives. Special interests have less corrupting power that way. WE could use more referendums on every level of government. Also in most Democratic Republics voting is mandatory.( Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand etc.)
Where voting is compulsory, can you vote for "none of the above"?
Cash Only: Vote for "none of the above"? That's a good question.Maybe they have write in votes where voters can fill in "None of the above". In Australia or some place they revoke your Driver's License if you fail to vote.