Few surprises in Tuesday municipal elections in Las Vegas, Henderson, North Las Vegas

No real shockers in Tuesday’s municipal elections. Las Vegas City Councilman Stavros Anthony easily retained his seat, while incumbent Bob Beers moved on to the general election.

Mr. Beers and Steve Seroka, a retired Air Force colonel, finished first and second in the Ward 2 balloting. Because neither hit the 50 percent threshold, they will square off in the June 13 balloting in what will likely be the most high-profile contest of the election cycle.

In Ward 6, former state lawmaker Michelle Fiore gained an easy plurality with 46 percent of the vote in a 10-candidate field. She will face runner-up Kelli Ross, who is looking to replace her term-limited husband on the council.

In other races, Municipal Judge Cediric Kerns retained his seat, while Judge Heidi Almase will face a general election challenge from Cara Campbell.

Meanwhile, North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee won a second term in a rout and Councilwoman Debra March emerged from a crowded field to win the mayor’s race in Henderson.

While turnout throughout the valley was an abysmal 9.5 percent, it’s getting more and more difficult to blame low turnout on voting barriers rather than apathy. Tuesday’s election was the first in both Las Vegas and North Las Vegas to introduce “voting centers” on Election Day. Rather than mandate that voters cast ballots only at their assigned precincts, the two jurisdictions set up about a dozen locations open to any and all registered voters.

Such a system is already in place during the two-week early voting window, when voters may register their preferences at any of the mobile polling places throughout the valley.

County officials on Tuesday opted to implement a similar approach during next year’s June primary. “This will provide more access to votes and more tools for us to uphold the integrity of the process,” said the county’s registrar of voters, Joe Gloria.

Election reform has been a hot-button partisan issue in recent years, particularly when it comes to same-day registration or voter ID requirements.

But the “voting center” concept should generate no such controversy and represents a common-sense means of making it more convenient for citizens to participate in local politics.