Mona Shield Payne / Special to the Home News
After casting their votes in the primary election, Bert and Jackie Bauer review their ballots outside of Desert Willow Golf Club on Horizon Ridge Parkway.
Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2008 | 1:03 p.m.
Clark County election clerk Patricia Wagner, left, checks the voter registration list as Beatrice Watson arrives to cast her votes in the primary election at Shadow Hills Baptist Church. When asked her party affiliation, Watson proudly said, "I was Democrat the day I was born 'til the day I die."
A rare opening for District A on the County Commission and crowded fields for two of Nevada’s three congressional districts gave voters reasons to cast ballots in today’s primary election.
The term limit for Commissioner Bruce Woodbury opened the race for the Republican nomination to the District A seat to a new candidate for the first time since 1980.
Also up for grabs is the District C seat, now held by Republican Chip Maxfield, who is not seeking re-election. Las Vegas City Councilman Larry Brown, a Democrat, is among nine candidates for the seat on today’s ballot.
Summerlin resident Jerald Mason was the polling place team leader at Shadow Hills Baptist Church at 7811 Vegas Dr. this morning.
The turnout was light, but Mason said it wasn’t unusual.
“I’ve been doing this for 12 years and the primary typically has a low turnout,” Mason said. “When the general election comes around it always quadruples.”
Over the past three election cycles at Shadow Hills Baptist Church, in 2004, 2006 and 2008, voter turnout has ranged from 120 to 500 people on primary day, Mason said.
He added there wasn’t any confusion in the first hour of voting over the Nevada Supreme Court’s July 25 term limits ruling, which left 21 state and local officials ineligible for re-election but still listed on the printed ballots.
“We haven’t been asked any questions so far,” Mason said. “People seem to be very aware of it.”
But voter Ryan Davis of Summerlin was unaware of the ineligible candidates listed on the ballot.
“I didn’t hear about that,” said Davis, who declined to reveal his party affiliation.
Nevertheless, he said he did most of his research on the Internet before voting.
“I leaned toward voting for candidates who had their information available online,” Davis said. “I was disappointed that some of the candidates didn’t have their own Web sites so you could read their biography and their background.”
Maria Sanchez of Las Vegas, a registered Republican, said she was aware of the ballot issues before casting her vote.
“I heard about it in the news so there wasn’t any confusion for me,” Sanchez said. “But I could see why someone who doesn’t watch the news might have that problem.”
Beatrice Watson, a Democrat from Las Vegas, said she was well informed about this election’s candidates as well as the ballot issues.
“I read everything and I watch everything on TV, too,” Watson said. “Then I make up my own mind on whether they’re lying or not. But how do you know if they’re lying? All you can rely on is their past record.”
Two Democrats and seven Republicans are competing for their party’s nomination to represent District 1 in Congress, currently held by Democrat Shelley Berkley; while four Democrats and three Republicans are running for incumbent candidate Jon Porter’s seat representing District 3. Both Berkley and Porter are seeking re-election.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m.
The election is a closed primary, meaning only registered members of a particular political party can vote for that party’s candidates.
Election workers are expecting low turnout at the polls throughout the Las Vegas area based on the small number of early voting ballots. The county registrar received 48,193 early ballots, or 7 percent, from registered voters.
Clark Country Registrar Larry Lomax said the low turnout can be attributed to a lack of voter interest for the candidates.
“Most of what’s on the ballot are judicial races and most voters are not familiar with the judicial candidates,” he said.
A few races became more interesting when the state Supreme Court issued its terms limits ruling.
However, the ballots were printed prior to the court’s ruling so the ineligible candidates names’, including those of Woodbury, University Regent Thalia Dondero and School Board Trustees Ruth Johnson and Mary Beth Scow, appeared on the ballots. The Secretary of state posted signs explaining the high court’s decision and how other candidates will be selected should the disqualified candidates receive the most votes.
Officials say polling places are less crowded mid-morning or mid-afternoon and voters in line when the polls close will be allowed to vote.
To find your precinct and poll location, visit the county Election Department’s Web site.
Jeff Pope and Jeff O’Brien are writers for the Home News
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