Supporters of a ballot measure that would allow Idaho racetracks to deploy the so-called “historical horseracing” machines say that the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, which opposes the machines, has hired people to intimidate the signature gatherers and deter voters from signing petitions.
A spokesman for Save Idaho Horse Racing declared, “This is a blatant attempt to disrupt and undermine the process of direct democracy by physically and verbally intimidating voters. While campaigns can be and often are wars of words, these folks are using in-your-face intimidation tactics to prevent the people from putting a key policy question on the ballot.”
The tribe denies it has done anything except hire people to provide facts to potential petition signers.
A spokesman for North Idaho Voter Project, which has close ties to the tribe, said in a statement, “I think if they were doing anything illegal, then it would have been dealt with by law enforcement rather than with a press release.” The same organization is lobbying for a bill that would make it illegal to knowingly lie while collecting signatures for a ballot measure.
Although all the tribes in the state oppose the betting terminals at racetracks, the Coeur d’Alene Tribe is the only one to form a PAC to fight the measure.
The issue of whether the machines are allowed in the racetracks stretches back to 2013 when 200 of the terminals were installed in several tracks. The legislature then banned the machines in 2015 because of their similarity to Las Vegas style slots that the tribes employ in their casinos.
