 | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
Alabama State Lottery Amendment | |||||||||||||||||||
| Results | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in Alabama |
|---|
 |
 Government |
Alabama Amendment 1 was a legislatively referred constitutional amendment that appeared on the ballot in the U.S. State of Alabama on October 12, 1999. The amendment would have established a state lottery in Alabama.
In 1999, Alabama was one of thirteen states without a state lottery. Governor Don Siegelman proposed this measure to the legislature, who approved and placed it onto the ballot. [1] The bill was criticized by religious leaders as a form of gambling, which many described as a sinful act. [2] Former Governor of Georgia Zell Miller campaigned alongside Siegelman in favor of the amendment. [2] Pro-lottery arguments focused on keeping money in the state, as state taxes went to the national lottery, which Alabama did not benefit from. [3]
The amendment was rejected with 54% in opposition. [4]
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 No | 672,802 | 54.21 |
| Yes | 568,289 | 45.79 |
| Total votes | 1,241,091 | 100.00 |
| Source: Alabama Secretary of State [5] | ||
In 2016, a similar bill proposed by Governor Robert J. Bentley was criticized by Siegelman, who criticized greed being the motive behind the bill. [6] In 2022, he later criticized Poarch Creek Indians, citing the Choctaw Indians as the ones who opposed and blocked the amendment. [7]
