Churches credited with rallying 54% lottery defeat in Alabama

                                                                                                                                          Vol. XII, No. 10, Nov/Dec 1999

Alabama voters rejected a state lottery Oct. 12 following an unprecedented and aggressive movement by the state's churches. With 98% of the precincts reporting, the vote was 663,988, or 54%, against and 559,377, or 46%, in favor. "The reason we won is the churches," said Jim Cooper of Citizens Against Legalized Lottery. "This issue was for our state and our families," he said. "This is a great state, but there is never a right way to do wrong. Lottery foes were outspent four to one but still won by more than 100,000 votes. [BP]