League of Women Voters of Maryland

League Member Barbara Matzen Coit has provided a report on the continuing efforts of the coalition known as StopSlots Maryland of which LWVMD is a member. The report deals in large part with the efforts of StopSlots in connection with Maryland’s February 12 primary election, which unfortunately with either be upon us or history by the time her report appears in this State Board Letter.

Barbara reports: The coalition is not standing still. As you are aware, the next election is the Primary on 12 February. The coalition is preparing to take advantage of that election to help educate the voters. We hope to engage and grow some support from individuals who do not want slots in Maryland. Tom Grey will be an advisor during this effort. For those who do not recognize his name, he is known to many of us as the finest national advisor on slots and what they do to individuals and families.

Citizens who vote in the primaries are also extremely likely to vote in the General Election. Because the referendum on slots is not on the primary ballot, we think the Primary gives us what could be an excellent educational and strategic advantage. And we are preparing to capitalize on that. The plan is to have signs at the most strategic primary venues. We also plan to have an individual ready to talk with the voters at the busiest voting times (e.g. 7 -8 a.m. and then again at 5-7 p.m.)

The designated individuals are encouraged to talk with primary voters, ask them to sign up on our petition against the referendum, and possibly get their name and address if they are interested in our efforts against the referendum. We need to cover as many precincts as we can, but we know we cannot afford to provide signs and individuals at every voting venue in the state.

We believe that many of the churches in Maryland, especially many of them in Prince George’s County and Montgomery County, will continue to support coalition efforts to kill the slots referendum. Some of our members are also planning to ask to speak directly to various organizations, whether they would be granted a short presentation, or a longer one. Doug Schmit will be working on building a speakers’ bureau. His email address is doug@chessiecap.com.

We were advised to have as many people to help at the polls as possible. Only then can we see how best to deploy our people and our assets (including the signs). We are, of course, urging the local Leagues to follow the concept described above so that they too may acquire some signs and deploy a few members at the Primary venues. We know that many local Leagues will be busy monitoring the Primary election, but we fervently hope that each League will also permit some members to assist with the coalition’s efforts at the Primary polls.

In regard to the signs at the Primary: when the Primary closes, the StopSlotsMaryland signs must be picked up immediately. We will need to use them again during the General Election. The coalition cannot afford to lose them.