Where I Stand — Ruthe Deskin: Nevada voters given chance to show their apathy

Tuesday, May 26, 1998 | 10:46 a.m.

IT WAS MEANT as a means to encourage people to vote.

When former Northern Nevada legislator Don Mello sponsored legislation that established the unique ballot addition of "none of these candidates," it was meant to stimulate voter turnout by providing an alternative to voting for candidates who are not popular or who are little known.

The bill also allowed voters to express dissatisfaction with the quality of candidates or the nature of election campaigns.

It was passed into law in 1975.

There was just one catch. "None of these candidates" can never win, even though there have been several times when "NOTC" garnered the most votes. In 1976, the year after the law was passed, "NOTC" was the most popular choice in the primary for representative in Congress on the Republican side. It happened again in 1978 when "NOTC" topped the ballot in the races for Republican congressional representative and secretary of state. It was repeated in 1985 in the race for state treasurer.

"NOTC" has never won a general election but has been runner-up in several races.

The option appears only on election ballots for the offices of U.S. president and vice president, U.S. senator, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, state treasurer, state controller and justice of the Nevada Supreme Court.

As far as I can tell, Nevada is the only state that allows voters to express dissatisfaction with candidates by casting their vote for "none of these."

This bit of political trivia came from the excellent updated edition of "Nevada Political History," issued by Dean Heller, secretary of state.

The book is filled with interesting and even revealing facts about elections and politics in our state.

Although the exact details are somewhat hazy, I can't help thinking about what could have happened in my home town, Yerington, if some students and parents had ignored the threats of a troubled youngster.

Would there have been a massacre on the school grounds similar to what took place in Springfield, Ore.?

In Yerington, a young student boasted plans to bring a gun to school and shoot teachers and students. His friends became alarmed and reported it to their parents, who, in turn, notified police, and the boy was taken into custody.

Yerington was a frightening case of what might have been.

After the shooting in Oregon, three sixth-grade boys in St. Charles, Mo., were plotting to kill fellow classmates, but police learned of the plan and the tragedy was averted. St. Charles possibly was spared a blood bath.

Pontificators are filling the airways with opinions about what has happened to youth in our society.

Meanwhile, right here in Las Vegas, loaded handguns have been confiscated on the campuses of local high schools.

Students are expelled for bringing weapons to school. That didn't work in the case of the lad in Oregon.

Perhaps the people in Yerington had the answer. In that Northern Nevada town, I know, there is close communication between parents and children. They do things together and respect each other. Children are taught that their parents are friends to whom they can come with problems. And parents are taught to listen to their children and take time to address their concerns.

Who knows how many lives were saved in Yerington because parents cared and listened and went directly to the police with their suspicions?

Never one to thoroughly trust or admire the bureaucrats of the Bureau of Land Management, I was impressed by the down-to-earth attitude of BLM director Pat Shea, who was in Las Vegas last week to confer with officials.

Shea, the national director of the BLM, has some innovative ideas about land use, development and protection. His Nevada cohorts, state director Robert Abbey and local director Mike Dwyer are also impressive in their understanding of problems facing the BLM.

Maybe there's some hope for amicable settlement of all the ongoing disagreements between BLM officials, ranchers, miners and political entities.

More trivia from Nevada's political history:

People were prohibited to vote in Nevada if they had participated, in any manner, in a duel. This law was repealed in 1978.

The first woman to be elected to a national office was Barbara Vucanovich, who ran and was elected to the newly created Congressional District 2. She was elected in 1982 and served until her retirement in 1996.

Las Vegan Ann O'Connell holds the record for the longest service of a female in the state Senate. She was first elected in 1984.

British humor is contagious.

Try listening to those British comedies on Channel 10 Saturday evenings. You'll fall in love with characters such as Mrs. Bucket -- pronounced BooKay, if you please.

"A scarcity of money may slow down our buying, but it mostly stops us from paying for what we've already bought."