County rejects challenge of 17,000 Democratic voters

Kirsten Searer

Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2004 | 9:40 a.m.

Clark County has rebuffed efforts of a local Republican activist to revoke the voter registrations of about 17,100 inactive Democratic voters.

County Counsel Mary-Anne Miller wrote a letter Monday directing Clark County Registrar Larry Lomax not to accept the challenges from Dan Burdish.

The county maintains Burdish can only challenge voters in his precinct, which would narrow the number to just 116.

And the county believes that state law clearly defines what should be done with so-called "inactive" voters. Lomax said Burdish cannot download the names of inactive voters and challenge them without personal knowledge of where they live.

The county has unsuccessfully tried to contact many of these voters via mail, and it's assumed that most of them have moved. But under state law, they remain on voter rolls until they fail to vote in two federal elections.

Also, under state law, those voters are supposed to vote in the precinct where they are registered, even if they no longer live there, Lomax said.

Burdish, a former executive director of the state Republican Party, said he's appealing to conservative legal foundations to help him challenge the voters because it's unfair for people to vote in local elections where they no longer live.

"If somebody doesn't live in that district, why should they be able to pick who represents that district?" he said.

Burdish says he targeted Democrats because he is "a partisan guy."

Democrats attacked Burdish's efforts.

"Obviously this is a major attempt to disenfranchise Nevada voters," said Tony Sanchez, a Las Vegas attorney working with the campaign for Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry.

It's already difficult to get voters to the polls, but stories like this make people re-think casting a vote, he said.

Donna Brazile, who is chairwoman for the Voting Rights Institute operated by the Democratic National Committee, said it's late for party supporters to challenge voter registrations, and Democrats will be watching for other challenges from Republicans.

Chris Carr, the current executive director of the Nevada Republican Party, said he is upset with charges by Democrats that the Republican Party was involved in the effort.

"For them to make the claim that we're trying to disenfranchise voters is totally irresponsible on their part," Carr said.

The state party did send a letter to Secretary of State Dean Heller on Oct. 2 asking clarification on who can act as poll watchers on election day, he said.

Some candidates plan to send poll watchers out during early voting and on election day and wanted to know whether poll watchers had to live in the precinct where the poll is located, Carr said.

But Carr said the party is not in touch with Burdish and has been actively registering voters, including some Democrats.

"If (Burdish) is challenging people who are legitimate voters, I'm definitely against that," Carr said. "We're about everyone having the right to vote who's eligible to vote."