Supreme Court rejects challenge of Neal’s primary election

Thursday, Oct. 5, 2000 | 9:26 a.m.

"We have considered the petitions, and the arguments as presented do not persuade us that this court's intervention by way of extraordinary relief is warranted at this time," the justices said in an order issued Wednesday.

Neal's victory was challenged by the Independent American Party.

Neal, D-North Las Vegas, was declared elected after getting more than half the total votes cast by Democrats in his three-candidate primary race Sept. 5.

Under a 1997 law, when only two candidates are running and both are in the same party, they face off in the November general election and all voters get to cast ballots.

If there are more than two candidates but all are members of the same political party, there is a primary and the two who get the most votes face off in the general election.

But if one of the three gets more than half the total votes cast in the primary, only his name appears on the general ballot, guaranteeing victory.

Neal did just that against fellow Democrats Uri Clinton and Christopher Montanez and was declared elected.

IAP Chairman Joel F. Hansen, a lawyer, petitioned the court to force Clark County to put Clinton's name on the Nov. 7 ballot. Clinton came in second after primary ballots were counted.

Hansen argued that declaring Neal elected deprives all non-Democrats the opportunity to vote in the Senate District 4 race and is, therefore, unconstitutional.