Columnist Jeff German: Election turmoil is nearly guaranteed

Friday, Oct. 22, 2004 | 7:16 a.m.

Jeff German's column appears Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays in the Sun. Reach him at german@lasvegassun.com or (702) 259-4067.

WEEKEND EDITION

October 23 - 24, 2004

The final days of Campaign 2004 have made this the most intense election ever in Nevada.

As a battleground state in the presidential race, we are being bombarded with a sickening array of attack ads over the television and radio airwaves. And our mailboxes are being filled with brutal hit pieces.

Like the nation, the state is polarized, and it's as if President Bush and John Kerry no longer care how nasty they can be toward each other.

While the negative campaign rhetoric flows into the state at an all-time high, Republican and Democratic political operatives from Washington have set up shop here to make a final grassroots push for our votes.

Both parties have launched massive voter turnout drives to get us to the polls on Election Day, and they each plan to have an endless number lawyers at the polls to look after the interests of their candidates.

Allegations of voter registration fraud also continue to haunt the election process, ensuring that we'll be hearing about this election in the courts long after Nov. 2.

"We are in a highly charged partisan environment, where passions are running very high on all sides," says Gary Peck, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada. "That's a recipe for some real problems."

It certainly has caught the attention of local election and law enforcement officials, who say they've put together a game plan to make sure the election is as trouble free as possible.

"Election Day could be a three-ring circus," says District Attorney David Roger, who has ordered his Civil Division to be prepared to handle any legal emergencies in court. "We expect to see challenges from many different groups."

How sad it is that lawyers and judges -- not the voters -- could determine the outcome of this election. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson must be rolling in their graves.

With the campaign as mean-spirited as it is, authorities are also concerned about reports that some groups might try to intimidate voters outside their polling places.

"We are picking up bits and pieces that groups of rabble-rousers will be out there," Sheriff Bill Young says. "We've got a tactical operations plan to ensure that the polling places are hassle free."

By state law no one can conduct partisan activities within 100 feet of a polling place, and both Roger and Young say they intend to enforce that law.

Another big concern is that legal observers from both parties allowed inside the polling places might get overzealous in their efforts to challenge voters.

Peck fears that large numbers of voters could be disenfranchised, and his concern is shared by Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax, who would have the unenviable task of determining the validity of the challenges.

"Each party is geared up to make sure they get every advantage they can," Lomax says. "My goal is to make sure Las Vegans go in and vote without being harassed by either side."

The way things are going, that will be a tough goal to reach.

This is the legacy of Florida in 2000, when the courts were called upon to decide one of the closest presidential elections in history. Seeing that every vote really did count in 2000 has prompted the Republicans and Democrats to pull out all the stops this time, especially in states like Nevada where electoral votes are up for grabs.

The irony is that we could have the smoothest election of all time in Las Vegas on Nov. 2 and still face a legal nightmare afterwards if the presidential race is close once more. The odds of another nail-biter are pretty good.

"Both sides saw the litigation in Florida, and now they're ready for it again," Lomax says.

But that doesn't mean we have to welcome such a development with open arms.

This isn't the way a democratic election is supposed to be conducted.