Election Day 2016 Results: Voters Make Final Decision on Casino Expansion Into North Jersey

Voters in New Jersey soundly rejected a proposal that would've allowed casinos in two counties in North Jersey on Tuesday.

The goal of Ballot Question No. 1 was to recover revenue that is leaving the state for Pennsylvania and New York and put it into Atlantic City and the horse racing industry as well as programs for seniors and the disabled.

It can't go back on the ballot for at least two years.

"We are glad to see the overwhelming support across New Jersey opposing casino expansion," Bill Cortese, executive director of opposition group Trenton's Bad Bet, said in a statement Tuesday night. "We attribute our success to a broad coalition of community leaders, unions, small businesses and residents who are convinced that North Jersey casinos would be a detriment to the entire state."

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"Today's vote is an important step for Atlantic City's return to becoming a world class resort," Resorts Hotel Casino owner Morris Bailey said in the statement issued Tuesday night. "On behalf of the 30,000 employees and their families that rely on the Atlantic City casino industry, we are gratified by the overwhelming defeat of this initiative."

“We are disappointed, but not surprised, by tonight’s result," pro-expansion group Our Turn NJ said in a statement Tuesday night. "We have seen for some time now that the people of New Jersey were unhappy with the lack of details on this issue. We do not view the failure to pass Question #1 as a rejection of gaming expansion, but as a rejection of our state’s current political climate and a failure to have all the facts presented to them.

“New Jersey has the chance for billions in private investment and to create thousands of new jobs. We cannot squander this opportunity to our neighboring states. But New Jersey has to start from the beginning on gaming expansion. What the people of this state need to see is a transparent, competitive plan that outlines in full detail how gaming expansion would work. Anything short of that will mean that we continue to lose out on all the jobs, revenue, and economic opportunities that gaming expansion can bring to New Jersey.”

Our Turn NJ ended its advertising campaign in September, after they say internal and third-party polling noted how difficult the state’s political climate made passage. The data noted that, at the time, that “Voters have a very negative outlook on the direction of the state and have extremely low confidence that the revenue promised in the Casino Expansion Amendment will be delivered as it is promised. Just 19% of New Jersey voters believe that the state is headed in the right direction. And an even lower proportion (10%) have a high level of confidence that the state will deliver upon the promised revenue as stated in the ballot measure.”

Some of those concerns about uncertainty addressed the fact that the question didn’t specify exactly where the casinos would be built or how much they would pay in taxes, according to the report. The only stipulation was that they would have to be at least 72 miles outside Atlantic City.

However, the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford and a location in Jersey City across the Hudson River from Manhattan are the likely targets, according to ABC News.

It was also unclear how much they would pay in taxes.

The chart below provides full results of the vote.

Earlier in the day, voters in South Jersey told The Press of Atlantic City they had voted no on the question because they didn’t want to see competition for Atlantic City’s casinos come from the north, as well as from Pennsylvania and New York. One voter said he wanted to see Atlantic City “come back with a bang.”

Four Atlantic City casinos have closed since 2014.

Earlier this year, Fitch Ratings had predicted up to half of Atlantic City’s remaining casinos could close if new casinos opened up north, according to nj.com.

In January, the state Senate and Assembly voted 34-6 and 54-15 in favor of the bill allowing the question on the ballot.

Voters first approved the idea of bringing casinos to Atlantic City in 1976.

Patch file photo