On today’s ballot, there is more for voters to consider than just electing the next president of the United States. There are a number of Judicial appointments and retention votes, each of the Southern Maryland counties offering a different slate. There are also multiple candidates for U.S. Congress, most notable is Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) up once again running against Collins Bailey.

Locally, there are individuals vying for positions on all three area school boards, which given the current economic climate, may be some of the most important decisions voters will have to make.

In addition to the candidate’s on the ballot, there are two questions, which voters are asked to decide.

Question No. 1 asks the voters to approve early voting. TheBAYNET.com ran a press release from the Republicans who are against allowing early voting. The Democrats have not made their position clear, at least to TBN. The general consensus is that opening up the polls to allow people the right to vote early is good for Democrats and not as good for Republicans who are outnumbered in Southern Maryland by a considerable margin.

Question No. 2 asks voters to decide once and for all whether or not slot machines should be allowed in limited quantities in Maryland. The difference this time around is that only five areas across the state would be allowed to have slot machines and the profits would be dedicated to public education.

The slot machine debate is nothing new here in Southern Maryland. In the 1950s and 60s, Southern Maryland was a Mecca for gamblers with wide-open slot machine availability in all three counties. However, the slots were outlawed and the last machine was removed in 1968.

Since that time, there have been a number starts and stops on the local slot machine debate, usage and removals. TBN reported on the latest round of law enforcement raids on illegal slots just this past summer.

One staunch opponent to slots in Maryland has been Comptroller Peter Franchot. TBN asked Franchot to state his position a final time before the election. His statement is below:

"Today, Marylanders will go to the polls to decide whether we should amend our state's constitution to legalize 15,000 slot machines.  As the chief fiscal officer, I believe slots are the wrong direction for our state.

“We tried them once in Southern Maryland and it was a disaster. At a time when families and businesses are tightening their belts, we cannot afford to let history repeat itself and potentially give away hundreds of millions a year to bailout gambling CEOs who do not have our best interests at heart.  
  
“While there is no doubt these are tough economic times, the reality is that Maryland will have a deficit with or without slots for the next five years, according to recently released figures from the non-partisan State Department of Legislative Services.

“Furthermore, any revenue that will be generated from slots will be offset by the social costs of dealing with more addiction, broken families and crime. I urge Marylanders to send the Annapolis insiders a message loud and clear by voting 'No' on Ballot Question 2, and let them know that it is time for a new approach to get our fiscal house in order and protect our communities from this predatory industry."