A state lottery is not the ticket for Arkansas, according to Gov. Mike Beebe.

Beebe, who has said for more than a year he was undecided on the issue, voted today against a proposed constitutional amendment to create a state-run lottery to fund college scholarships.

Beebe spokesman Matt DeCample said the governor weighed the advantages of a lottery, including the potential to offer more scholarships and to keep money in the state that Arkansans are now spending on other states’ lotteries, against the disadvantage of a potential negative economic impact “on some people in our state who can least afford it.”

Concerns about the impact on the poor “weighed a little heavier in the end, especially with the economic picture like it is,” DeCample said.

Beebe cast his ballot at a polling site in his hometown of Searcy after a 40-minute wait.

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. Bill Halter, who proposed the lottery amendment, cast his ballot today at a North Little Rock polling place. On the way in Halter told reporters he was confident voters would approve the measure.

Tags: Bill Halter, general election, lottery, Mike Beebe

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