Nevadans go to the polls in primary election

Sandra Chereb

Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2000 | 11:38 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - A lackluster voter turnout was anticipated as Nevadans head to the polls today to cast ballots in the state's primary election.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. Registered voters who didn't take advantage of early voting opportunities over the past two weeks have until 7 p.m. to cast ballots to help determine which candidates will advance to the Nov. 7 general election.

In Clark County, Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said "things were up and running smoothly" as the polls opened.

That's a switch from the malfunctions that maligned Clark County's past two presidential elections, including ballot misprints, mechanical problems and allegations of voter fraud.

Washoe County's election chief Dan Burk was determined to avoid a repeat of two years ago when the counting of general election returns dragged on for days and left a key U.S. Senate race up in the air.

Burk said he and his staff have done "everything in our power" to make sure today's primary election will be done right the first time.

The last countywide election in November 1998 was a nightmare because of problems with a central count machine and several thousand ballots that were improperly printed by the county.

Washoe was last in the nation to post official results nine days after the election. The delay kept the nation waiting for the outcome of the U.S. Senate race between Democratic incumbent Harry Reid and then Republican Rep. John Ensign.

Reid ultimately defeated Ensign by a slim margin of 428 votes.

There are no hotly contested statewide races in this primary to lure voters to the polls. Still, state election officials hoped for a 50 percent voter turnout, though local election officials in Clark and Washoe counties predicted much smaller turnouts ranging from 25 percent to 35 percent.

The major primary contests could hardly be called contests at all, with the favorites expected to win easily over little-known challengers.

In the Republican U.S. Senate primary, Ensign, who wants to replace retiring Democratic Sen. Richard Bryan, faces newcomers Richard Hamzik of Gardnerville and Fernando Platin Jr. of Henderson.

Democrat Ed Bernstein had no primary opposition in his first U.S. Senate bid.

In Nevada's 1st Congressional District race, state Sen. Jon Porter was the frontrunner in a GOP primary against schoolteacher Jim Blockey and former university regent Nancy Price.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, the incumbent Democrat, has no primary opponent.

In the 2nd Congressional District race, Rep. Jim Gibbons, R-Nev., was expected to win easily over political newcomber Mitchell Tracy, to face Democrat Tierney Cahill in November.

In Southern Nevada, two county commission races and a state Senate battle topped the primary ballot.

Clark County Commissioner Mary Kincaid faced union-supported North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Stephanie Smith in the Democratic primary. And with no major GOP opposition, the primary winner is the likely winner of the seat.

Republican Clark County Commissioner Lance Malone faced opposition from political newcomer Chip Maxfield. If Malone wins he is expected to have a strong Democratic challenger in November - most likely School Board member Lois Tarkanian.

Democratic voters in Southern Nevada could also decide today who wins the race between longtime state Sen. Joe Neal, D-North Las Vegas, and Las Vegas attorney Uri Clinton, who is backed by the powerful casino industry.

A third candidate, Chris Montanez, is on the ballot though he has taken himself out of the running. The election will be won in the primary if either Neal or Clinton takes more than half the vote.

In Reno, three incumbents on the City Council are trying to fend off challengers who are upset with the demolition of the historic Mapes Hotel, the proposed downtown railroad trench project and downtown redevelopment efforts.

Incumbent Tom Herndon faces four challengers for his Ward 1 seat, while David Aiazzi has three contenders in Ward 5. Pierra Hascheff has five opponents seeking his at-large seat.

Nine candidates are vying for the Ward 3 seat being vacated by Bill Newberg.