County taps star power to get voters to the polls

By Conor Shine

Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2014 | 12:52 p.m.

With three weeks until the voter registration deadline and 500,000 eligible voters still unregistered, Clark County unveiled a series of television spots today urging people to cast their ballots in the November election.

The campaign includes Las Vegas notables Rick Harrison of "Pawn Stars," BMX bike racer Ricardo Laguna and entertainers from the "Legends in Concert" show in a series of short commercials urging residents, “Don’t lose your voice. Vote.”

A total of 813,348 residents are registered to vote. That includes 355,000 Democrats and 249,000 Republicans. That’s behind the pace in 2012, when 852,000 people were registered to vote.

Voter registration by mail ends Oct. 4. In-person and online registration closes on Oct. 14.

Even those who are registered often don’t turn up to vote — only 15 percent cast ballots in the June primary, the lowest turnout since 2008.

Voter participation is usually higher for general elections, but a lack of marquee races this year could mean fewer people are motivated to cast a ballot.

“Unfortunately (turnout) is driven more by if there are high-profile candidates,” Clark County Registrar of Voters Joseph Gloria said.

The county’s voter-awareness campaign will air on its in-house television station, Channel 4, and is being made available for other local television stations to air. The county also is putting cutouts of the performers starring in the commercials at voting locations around the valley. The cutouts bear the “Don’t lose your voice” message, and the county hopes voters will spread the campaign’s message through photos and postings on social media.

For information on how to register to vote, visit the Clark County Election Department’s website.