Philly’s Ballot Box (May - June 2007)

Rather than allow the public to have their say, the PA Gaming Control Board, SugarHouse, and Foxwoods sued the City to prevent the vote from going forward.

In a decision reeking of corruption, the PA Supreme Court overruled the city’s right and the right of the voters by handing down an injunction that prevented the vote from taking place. A sticker stating, “Removed by Court Order” was placed over the already-printed ballot question on each voting machine. Once again, many politicians, reporters, and pundits declared the anti-casino movement dead.

But we take a bold response to repression. Instead of seeing this as a loss, we saw this as a chance to show the city just how deeply casinos and corruption were intertwined.

In just four weeks, Casino-Free Philadelphia designed and ran Philadelphia’s first citizens’ election, Philly’s Ballot Box. We set up five-foot-tall ballot boxes at polling places in every Councilmanic, State Senate and State Representative district. Over 13,000 people across the city participated in Philly’s Ballot Box. 95% said “YES” to the 1,500-foot buffer.

Philly’s Ballot Box received local and statewide attention. Even with a competitive Mayoral primary election, we received front-page coverage in the Metro and coverage by TV news channels on election day.

The result: the voters’ clear statement in Philly’s Ballot Box helped secure City Council’s support for the long-term and led to the introduction of the casino buffer question at the state level via House Bill 1477. Yet the greatest result from Philly’s Ballot Box was that it renewed people’s sense of self-empowerment and creativity in the face of injustice.