Columnist Ruthe Deskin: The odd candidacy of NOTC

Ruthe Deskin

Thursday, July 20, 2000 | 9:15 a.m.

Ruthe Deskin is assistant to the publisher. Her column appears Thursdays. Reach her at deskin@lasvegassun.com.

NOTC: Those are the initials of a political candidate who sometimes wins, often comes in second and seldom finishes last -- and you'll never know his or her stand on any issue.

No one seems to know why, but in 1975 the Nevada Legislature approved a bill that gives voters the option of voting for "None of These Candidates" for all public officers elected statewide.

Then-Northern Nevada Assemblyman Don Mello sponsored the legislation. He promised it would stimulate voter turnout, although there is little support for his theory. Advocates maintained it allowed voters to register dissatisfaction with candidates. That it does, but loses any real effectiveness in cases where NOTC wins but the next-highest gets the nod.

In the 1976 primary race for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate, NOTC came in second behind incumbent Sen. Howard Cannon, who went on to defeat David Towell in the general election.

It was a different story in the Republican primary for representative in Congress. None of these candidates actually won. In 1978 current Supreme Court Justice Myron Leavitt ran for lieutenant governor. He won easily in a field of four. But guess who came in second -- NOTC, which was also victorious when two Republicans were defeated by the will-o'-the-wisp candidate for secretary of state.

In 1986 five Democrats vying to be treasury secretary were rejected by voters in favor of NOTC. Very seldom has this candidate come in last, and often runs a distant second to incumbents. In a muckraking campaign in 1992 for the state Supreme Court, voters registered their displeasure: NOTC received 86,682 votes. And in 1994 the highest NOTC vote ever recorded -- 89,235 -- was in another Supreme Court contest.

Nevada is the only state to offer this unique voting privilege. For this lesson in history, I thank Secretary of State Dean Heller for the 1996 edition of "Political History of Nevada."

These books have been published by the secretary of state's office for 85 years, with some interruptions. Secretary Heller's is the 10th edition. The paper-bound book is chock-full of data and history concerning our state. For trivia buffs it is invaluable and countless arguments have been settled by referring to it. I would hope the book is available in schools and libraries.

Write to the secretary of state in Carson City if you are interested in adding this fascinating tome to your library. P.S.: It's not free, but worth the small price they will be asking.

On the subject of elections, here are some facts for longtime Las Vegans to recall: In 1947 Harve Perry, Walter Bates and E.W. Cragin were running for mayor; for commissioner first-class among a group of candidates were Don Borax, I.R. Crandall, Harold Stocker, Dr. Dale McCoy and Reed Whipple; for commissioner third-class, candidates were Al Corradettel, Phil Cummings, George E. Franklin Sr., Rex Jarrett, William Peccole and Moe Sedway; Howard Cannon, C. Norman Cornwall and George Rudiak were seeking the city attorney's post; and A.G. Blad was a shoo-in for city court justice.

A golfing friend says if you think it's hard to meet new people, pick up the wrong golf ball.