Where I Stand: A good day in Nevada with long lines and ballots

Friday, Nov. 8, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

CALIFORNIA HAS 30 million people and 15 statewide propositions on its ballot. This is to be expected because the ballot our voting neighbors must face has become longer and longer every year with more propositions.

But wait a minute! Our own Silver State has far less than 2 million residents and we had 17 statewide questions on our ballot. Is there any wonder the lines were long outside the polls?

Were all 17 statewide questions worthy of being placed on our ballots? Probably not if you take time to evaluate them. For example, Question 16 would have required any tax measure to be passed twice by the Legislature. That's unless Question 11 was passed. Question 11 requires two-thirds vote of the Legislature to put on a new tax or raise an existing tax. Question 11 was passed and therefore Question 16 results are null and void.

Then there was Question 2 which put victims' rights into the Nevada Constitution. Almost everything it requires is already in state statutes. All it would have taken is more legislative action to strengthen these provisions. It certainly didn't require ballot Question 2.

There was Question 4, which removes from our state constitution a clause in which the state gave up its interest in the unappropriated public lands to the federal government. What fool can possibly believe that the federal government will now give the land to the state and tell Nevada officials "go ahead sell it and use it any way you want to use it."

Jack McCloskey of the Mineral County Independent newspaper describes Question 4 as follows: A proposal to remove from the state constitution a "disclaimer" granting federal government control over much of the "public" land within this state. This might be a pleasant dream but only would clutter the constitution with a surplus of unenforceable words because the amendment could not become effective without consent of Congress (an impossible dream) or until a court decides that such congressional action is not needed. Federal courts already have ruled, twice this year, in favor of government, not state, ownership of the land, and there is little likelihood of any reversal of those decisions within the next few centuries.

Yeah, there's plenty of good reasons that a state the size of Nevada could have had a ballot much smaller than the one we had this week. Let's just hope it doesn't get any worse as our population expands. If the ballot does stay this long or gets bigger, somebody had better convince voters to do their homework before going to the polls and being prepared to move through the line in less than five minutes and not the nine and 10 minutes some took on Tuesday.

As for the complaints about standing in long lines to vote, I find it difficult to sympathize with the complainers. All of us, including me, could have voted several times during the prior two weeks. I'm the only member in my household who wasn't wise enough to take advantage of all of those early opportunities.

My time of one hour and 15 minutes standing in line at Crestwood School wasn't wasted. I visited with my neighbors and other friends as the lines crept slowly toward the voting machine. If we had 10 machines instead of seven there would have been less waiting time. Despite this, there wasn't any whining because we all came to exercise our voting rights and knew why we were there.

All in all, it was another free election held by the world's greatest nation. Maybe, after observing free elections in Nicaragua, Israel and among the Kurds in Iraq, I'm too easily pleased. After watching people risk their lives, walk several miles and then stand in line in the hot sun or rain for five to 10 hours to vote, our own system and few inconveniences are nothing to whine about.

Tuesday I drove my car and parked a block from the polling place and walked in the cool of the evening to vote. Then, after little more than an hour of visiting, I voted and went home for dinner. That night I watched the rapid returns on television and listened to remarks by both winners and losers. No riots, no assassinations, just another great day in Nevada, USA.

God Bless America.