As of this writing, no president or
chancellor of a public college or university in Arkansas has publicly
endorsed a proposed state-lottery amendment that would create
scholarships for students to attend those institutions. Lt. Gov. Bill
Halter, the principal promoter of the amendment, says that he expects
some of them will before Election Day.

Halter says some presidents and
chancellors have told him privately that they support Proposed
Constitutional Amendment No. 3, but they have to be careful in showing
their support, for various reasons, such as a board of trustees that is
divided on the issue.

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In the meantime, Halter cites
endorsements by John White, former chancellor of the University of
Arkansas at Fayetteville (White was at Georgia Tech when Georgia
established a lottery for scholarships); the Board of Visitors of the
University of Arkansas at Little Rock, several labor unions, and 38
mayors and county judges, as well as various candidates for office.

Asked about support from the state
Senate, over which Halter presides when it’s in session, he said that
he hadn’t asked any senator to publicly endorse the amendment. A good
thing; some of them oppose the amendment, for the same reasons that
other Arkansans do. They doubt that it will produce as much revenue as
supporters claim, and they don’t believe the state should be taking
advantage of its own citizens, especially the low-income ones.
Tolerating gambling, as at the state’s two race tracks is one thing,
they say. Operating the game yourself is another.

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Some legislators may even have
religious objections, although those have become rarer in a state that
has seen both gambling and liquor laws relaxed over the last 30 years
or so. Even some of the church-based groups opposed to Amendment 3 cite
budgets more than Bibles. They also cite experience. Arkansas has
rejected lotteries before.

But the lottery’s chances may be better
this year. Forty-two states and the District of Columbia now have
lotteries, including most of Arkansas’s Bible Belt neighbors. A poll
taken for the University of Central Arkansas in the spring showed the
lottery favored by 64 percent of respondents. That was a hypothetical
lottery, though, with no organized opposition.

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Halter didn’t have to ask for
senatorial support, because Amendment 3 was not put before the
legislature for referral to a popular vote. In 2007, Halter asked the
legislature to refer a lottery amendment to the people, and he was
rebuffed. Amendment 3 got on the ballot by means of petitions signed by
eligible voters. John A. Bailey, a Little Rock property owner and
executive, put up most of the money, some $400,000, for this year’s
successful campaign to gather signatures. He’s by far the largest
contributor to the lottery effort.

Though he’s been lieutenant governor
since last January, Halter remains something of a political mystery
man, a native Arkansan who came back after a number of years in
Washington, and measured a governor’s race before settling for
something more winnable.

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But to be lieutenant governor is to
barely hold office. It’s most unusual, if not unprecedented, for a
lieutenant governor to front a campaign for something as important and
controversial as a lottery.  The general belief is that Halter hopes to
use the lottery as a platform to higher office. That this is a sound
political strategy is somewhat less widely believed. A politician can
make fierce, unforgetful enemies in a campaign like this.

Asked if he hopes to advance his
political career through the lottery campaign, Halter says, “I see this
as an opportunity to advance Arkansas.”

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“We’re ahead of only West Virginia in
the percentage of our people who are college graduates,” Halter says.
“To compete for high-paying jobs, you have to have a well-educated work
force.” Other states, once no better than Arkansas, have created this
well-educated work force, he says. “Look at North Carolina, and
Georgia. Austin, Texas, and Little Rock used to be virtually
identical.” The Georgia lottery has funded college scholarships for
over a million students, he says.

A frequent criticism of lotteries, and
frequently true, is that revenue intended to augment tax dollars, for
education say, ends up replacing tax dollars, so that there’s no real
gain. Halter carefully points out that Amendment 3 says, “Lottery
proceeds remaining after payment of operating expenses and prizes shall
supplement, not supplant, non-lottery educational resources.” But
lacking definite amounts or percentages, how would that provision be
enforced? Sue, Halter says.

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A couple of committees are raising
money to fight Amendment 3, with most of their contributions coming
from churches and in comparatively small amounts. The opponents have
raised far less than the proponents, who plan a closing TV
campaign.    

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