Early voting hits record proportions

Ed Koch and Jace Radke

Monday, Oct. 30, 2000 | 11:33 a.m.

The local record for early voting turnout was shattered Sunday with the projected five busiest days to go, said Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax.

Through Sunday, 88,174 people had cast ballots at seven permanent early voting sites -- including area malls -- and six mobile sites.

Sunday afternoon, the early voting record of 85,646, set in 1998, was shattered. The previous record for a presidential election year, about 46,000 in 1996, is expected to be doubled sometime today.

"Traditionally, we still have the five busiest days to go for early voting," Lomax said. "A tip for people who want to get in and out quickly is to go to the Clark County Government Center or the Fashion Show mall. They have not been as busy as other sites.

"But the lines have been moving quickly at all locations, so don't be discouraged if you see a line where your are at."

Although there are 249,000 registered Democrats compared to about 213,000 registered Republicans in Clark County, the numbers of voters have been about even. Through Sunday, Lomax said, 38,445 Democrats had voted compared to 38,397 Republicans.

The 14-day early voting period ends Friday evening.

Lomax today upped his predicted early voter turnout from 120,000 to 140,000, which represents about 40 percent of all votes that will be cast for the Nov. 7 general election.

Last week's flurry of political VIP visits to Nevada may have pushed Clark County voters into action.

Getting out to vote has been part of the message of many of the politicians that have visited the state in the last few weeks, including Democratic and GOP vice presidential nominees Joe Lieberman, D-Conn., and Dick Cheney.

Lieberman made a campaign stop at UNLV on Thursday, while Cheney delivered a speech at the Reno-Tahoe International Airport Tuesday, after stopping the previous week in Las Vegas.

During his speech at UNLV Lieberman told a crowd of supporters, "That's right, the polls are open here, so get out and vote."

Reform Party presidential candidate Pat Buchanan made a stop in Las Vegas on Friday, and Vice President Al Gore visited Las Vegas last month. Four Republican governors stumped for Gov. George W. Bush in Las Vegas last week with Colorado Gov. Bill Owens emphasizing the importance of voting.

Donna Shalala, secretary of Health and Human Services, spoke to seniors Sunday at the Plaza at Sun Mountain independent living facility, stumping for Democrats.

Speaking on Social Security privatization and the need to modernize Medicare with a prescription drug benefit, Shalala was joined by Democrat Ed Bernstein, who is seeking the U.S. Senate seat of retiring Democrat Richard Bryan. Ex-Republican Rep. John Ensign is Bernstein's opponent.