December 3rd, 2010 – by Glen Farmer
On Election Day of 2010, Maine voters had passed a referendum that would allow a casino to be built in Oxford County. The vote had been so close that opponents to the casino expansion in the state had requested a recount.
The recount began on Thursday. Opponents are hoping that the vote is found to have failed, while proponents are optimistic that the vote will be overturned.
The figures showed that the November 2 vote on the statewide ballot passed by 4,601 votes. The slim margin of 1 percent had prompted opponents to attempt to have the vote overturned.
Uncommon in the state of Maine, a recount has not occurred since 1990.
It is likely that the recount will take multiple weeks in order to verify the actual count of the votes. Election officials will sift through the “yes” and “no” votes in order to determine if there was an error in the counting.
It is unexpected that a difference will be made by the recount. It is expected that 1/5th of the state will be recounted in less than a fortnight.
Should the Yes vote stand, Black Bear Entertainment will establish a $165 million dollar casino with both slot machines and table games.
Online casinos have not been considered by the state.