80 percent voter turnout expected

Wednesday, Oct. 30, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

Secretary of State Dean Heller is expecting an 80 percent turnout of Nevada's 778,298 registered voters on Tuesday and in early voting that continues through Friday.

Those who vote will receive an out-of-this-world sticker to commemorate their participation.

The I VOTED sticker voters are given after casting their ballots will include a rendering of the Extraterrestrial Highway logo.

The highway, a 98-mile stretch of State Route 375 in Lincoln County, was formally designated the Extraterrestrial Highway in February because of its proximity to Area 51, a highly classified government air base some consider a magnet for UFOs.

About 38,000 more people signed up to vote in this election than were registered for the Sept. 3 primary. For the first time since 1930, Republicans hold an edge over Democrats going into the general election.

There are 329,730 Republicans registered in Nevada and 325,501 Democrats, or a GOP lead of 4,229.

Clark County has 470,995 voters, or 61 percent of the total. Democrats outnumber Republicans 212,695 to 184,197.

In Nevada's 1st Congressional District, which includes urban parts of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson, Democrats lead 155,727 to 119,389, or by 36,338 voters. Democrat Bob Coffin is vying to unseat Rep. John Ensign, R-Nev., in the district.

In Nevada's 2nd Congressional District, which encompasses the remainder of Nevada and 31 percent of Clark County, Republicans outnumber Democrats 210,341 to 169,774, or by 40,567 voters. Former Republican Assemblyman Jim Gibbons and former Democratic state Sen. Spike Wilson are running to replace retiring Rep. Barbara Vucanovich, R-Nev.

Green machine

Ralph Nader's Green Party is looking to the future in Nevada.

Supporters hope that more than 5,000 Nevadans will vote for Nader so the party will be able to field candidates in the 1998 election without having to circulate petitions.

Green Party proponents held a rally at the University of Nevada, Reno this week to convince constituents that a vote for Nader would not be wasted.

Sandi Rizzo, Nader's state coordinator, said if Nader receives enough votes, the party will be able to "run our own candidates (in 1998) to fight for Green values, such as ecological wisdom, social justice and grass-roots democracy."

Women criticize Jones

Attorney General Frankie Sue Del Papa and Reno City Attorney Patricia Lynch are calling on Clark County Family Court Judge Steve Jones, a Nevada Supreme Court candidate, to withdraw a television advertisement that features his wife, Deborah.

In a news release, Del Papa and Lynch said Jones "should stop hiding behind his wife. He ought to come clean about the events surrounding the jailing of his pregnant wife."

The advertisement says Justice Cliff Young, whom Jones is vying to unseat, made false statements about a domestic violence incident involving Jones and his wife.

Deborah Jones was sentenced for domestic battery on June 12 after a January incident in which police said she hit her husband with a shower curtain rod. She was ordered to undergo domestic batter counseling.

Del Papa and Lynch said, "To assert Justice Young is anything but honest is completely false."

Jones' spokesman, Jim Denton, said Jones does not intend to withdraw the ad.

Winchester returns

Jessi Winchester, the ex-prostitute defeated in the primary election by Democratic congressional candidate Spike Wilson, has become an issue in Tuesday's election.

Winchester has switched sides and tossed her support to Republican Jim Gibbons. The Wilson campaign says Winchester represented Gibbons at several candidate forums and printed posters that say "Paid for by Democrats for Gibbons and private contributions."

Wilson's campaign staff is complaining the money for the posters was not identified in Gibbons' campaign reports. Winchester said she made the sign on her private computer at no expense.