Table Games - Updated

Jefferson and Ohio county voters have begun casting ballots in their respective special elections on the table games question.

Both the Wheeling News-Register and The Journal of Martinsburg found racetrack employees among the early voters.

The Journal also reports on the debate it sponsored last week on the issue in Jefferson County. "Four community leaders took center stage on the pros and cons of table games. Retired businessman Walt Pellish and Jefferson County Board of Education member Alan Sturm argued in favor of the issue, while Delegate John Doyle, D-Jefferson, and the Rev. Douglas Fraim spoke against table games," the article said.

West Virginia Public Broadcasting also covered the debate, and offers audio as well as information on a pro-table games group in that county.

The state Supreme Court, meanwhile, is expected to decide later this week on whether to consider a constitutional challenge to the table games legislation.

Update - The Associated Press offers this roundup of the early voting and related issues -- including a rise in registered voters in the racetrack counties. Get-out-the-vote efforts in both Ohio and Jefferson counties by table games supporters includes driving track workers to the polls. But opponents are also rallying, with one Jefferson County group setting up this web site to educate would-be voters.