Marylanders head to polls - The Washington Post After enduring an epic advertising war and months of anticipation, Marylanders Tuesday morning finally head to the polls for an historic opportunity to cast their votes on several ballot initiatives that could influence the state's social and economic identity. Two of the big-ticket items are issues that no other state in the country has approved at the ballot box: allowing gay marriage and extending in-state college tuition to illegal immigrants who meet certain conditions. Marylanders will also vote on whether they want a Las Vegas-style casino in Prince George's County, as well as table games - such as black jack and roulette - at the state's five previously authorized slots casinos. The fourth major ballot measure: whether to preserve the state's newly redrawn Congressional map, which was designed partly to unseat longtime Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-Frederick). The gambling issue has dominated Maryland's airwaves. An unprecedented $90 million campaign flooded voters" televisions this year with almost non-stop ads, as each side fought over how much gambling money would end up in schools" coffers. Passage of the ballot measure, Question 7, would generate an estimated $150 million a year in additional education funding within a few years, according to state legislative analysts. Critics contend that "no new money is required for education." A Washington Post poll in October strongly suggested that Maryland voters are more than ready to greenlight same-sex marriage and a form of the Dream Act. The poll found that likely voters favored gay marriages 52 percent to 43 percent. So far, gay marriage in the U.S. has been a right granted only by courts and legislatures, not by popular vote. Thirteen other states have adopted a version of the Dream Act, but Maryland voters could be the first to approve it themselves. The Post poll found that 59 percent of likely voters support in-state tuition at public colleges for undocumented immigrants, while 35 percent oppose it. Voters are tackling these four issues this election cyle for different reasons. Lawmakers are required by the Maryland constitution to put forward any gambling expansion to a statewide vote. Although gay marriage, the state's Dream Act, and the new congressional map were approved by the state legislature, opponents gathered enough signatures for a petition so voters could re-examine the decisions directly.