RECOUNTS CONTINUE IN REGION

PERRYVILLE -- Riverboat gambling is still a loser in Perry County.

Election officials recounted the April 5 punch card ballots twice Thursday, but the results were unchanged from the election night tally. Voters rejected the gambling amendment by a vote of 1,330 against to 831 for.

"It certainly makes you feel a lot better when the count is the same," said Randy Taylor, county clerk. "It's nice to have it work out that way."

Taylor said the recount began at 3 p.m. and was completed within 45 minutes.

In addition to election judges, the recount was witnessed by an attorney representing pro-gambling forces in the state.

Missouri's counties must recount their ballots on the riverboat gambling issue by Tuesday. The recount was requested by pro-casino forces.

The constitutional amendment, designed to allow slot machines on the floating casinos, failed by 1,267 votes out of more than 1 million cast.

Recounts were conducted in Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties Wednesday, and in both cases the vote totals changed slightly.

In Bollinger County, which uses an optic scan system to count ballots, the measure was defeated by a vote of 1,640 against to 725 for.

The final tally listed five more yes votes and an equal increase in no votes, as compared to the election-night totals, said Diane Holzum, county clerk.

She blamed the difference on the fact that some voters marked their ballots in ink, which could not be read by the scanning machine. The machine only reads ballots marked with pencil, said Holzum.

In Cape County, the gambling amendment was defeated by a vote of 8,383 against to 6,468 for.