1 muni election is all Las Vegas Valley gets this year

Calling all apathetic voters out there — you know who you are — you can stay home June 2 without feeling guilty.

For the first time in history, there will be no general election in all three of Clark County’s main municipalities — Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson — according to the elections department. That’s because incumbents ran away with the primary by winning more than 50 percent of the vote, so there’s no need for any runoffs.

No, this year it’s one and done.

Not many voters showed up Tuesday either. Only 14 percent of registered voters decided 10 City Council and judicial races in the three cities.

What’s going on?

First, holding elections in odd-numbered years “is closely linked to low turnout and a general lack of interest,” said Eric Herzik, a political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Second, most cozy incumbents didn’t have strong challengers, who all lost by double digits except in one contest.

That race — between Henderson City Councilman Sam Bateman and financial adviser Derek Uehara — was settled by 8 percentage points, with Bateman just squeaking past the 50 percent plus one vote needed to avert a general election.

The closest Las Vegas race was decided by 12 points, with Mayor Carolyn Goodman besting Mayor Pro Tem Stavros Anthony in what was widely seen as a referendum on the city’s now-abandoned plan to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on a downtown soccer stadium.

Three other Las Vegas city leaders won their re-election bids by an average of 41 points.

The tightest North Las Vegas race, between Ward 2 Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown and three relative newcomers, was decided by 38 points.

Retired postal worker Richard Cherchio, running for the only open City Council seat on Tuesday’s ballot, hauled in 72 percent of voters who turned out in North Las Vegas’ Ward 4. But Cherchio was a familiar face, having served two years on the council after being appointed in 2009.

Herzik of UNR said potential quality challengers might figure the time commitment and personal cost isn’t worth running.

“Having strong incumbents is a key as that drives up the price of entry for any challenger,” Herzik said. “Potentially serious challengers — as opposed to the random filers — have to assess their chances against an incumbent based on whether they have the time and money to mount a realistic race.”

When there are no incumbents, however, you can expect a crowded race. The Reno mayor’s race last year is an example. When a court decision on term limits knocked out the front-runners, 18 candidates jumped into the race, Herzik said.

Reno and Washoe County hold their elections in even-numbered years when the ballot is crowded with top-tier races — the presidency in 2016 for instance — that draw voters and attract more interest in the municipal elections.

Las Vegas City Councilman Bob Beers, who wasn’t up for re-election Tuesday, said he would like the city to shift to even-numbered years as well, mostly to save money — as much as $1 million in Las Vegas alone. When he served in the Assembly, he introduced or co-sponsored such a bill every legislative session, but it never got out of committee.

This year, a similar bill, Assembly Bill 416, is expected to die in the Assembly Legislative Operations and Elections Committee. With a few exceptions, bills that haven’t passed out of committee by a deadline today will automatically die.

“It’s shot down every time,” said Beers, who added it’s a waste of money to hold odd-year elections. He said most local elected officials object to changing the system, in part, because of term limits since they might get shortchanged.

In addition, however, a low-turnout election can benefit incumbents, who have a ready-made base of support.

“I’m not failing to recognize voter apathy and the power of incumbency,” Beers said.

This year won’t be the first time each of the municipalities has not had a general election.

The city of Las Vegas didn’t have a runoff election in the years 1981, 1993, 2001 and 2013, according to records dating to 1955. North Las Vegas didn’t have a general election in 2003. And the city of Henderson didn’t have a runoff election in the years 1999, 2003 and 2007.

Despite the low turnout in Tuesday’s election and in the 2014 midterm voting across Nevada, Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria predicted 2016 would break voter turnout records.

“No incumbent for president, a fight for Harry Reid’s empty (U.S. Senate) seat, and ballot measures related to marijuana and guns will make for an extremely busy election,” Gloria said.

It might even be worth getting off the couch.

Contact James DeHaven at jdehaven@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3839. Find him on Twitter: @JamesDeHaven. Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Find her on Twitter: @lmyerslvrj.