Election compliance vowed

CARSON CITY -- Nevada can comply with a federal law that requires election ballots to be sent to military members and other residents overseas at least 45 days before an election, Deputy Secretary of State Matt Griffin said Thursday.

Griffin said legislators earlier this year approved a bill sought by the secretary of state that moved the primary election to June 8 in 2010 and requires candidates to file their candidacies March 4-14.

The primary had been held in August, and filing had been done in May.

The bill signed Wednesday by President Barack Obama is expected to leave states with August or September primaries in a quandary because it might be difficult to get ballots for the November election to overseas voters 45 days earlier.

But Griffin, Nevada's chief elections deputy, said that will not be a problem with the primary moved to early June.

He said the new state law allows the state to e-mail ballots to service members and others and for them to return ballots by e-mail.

"Nevada has a lot of service members, and we didn't want to disenfranchise them," said Griffin, adding the bill was drawn up with the help of Tim Tetz, director of the state Office of Veterans Services.

Besides concern about getting ballots to service members in time, legislators thought the August primary had sparse turnout because of the hot weather and people going on vacation, Griffin said.

With an August primary, Griffin said, the state might have missed getting November general election ballots to service members in case of a recount.

But he said there "always will be a potential problem" in getting legal questions about ballot questions decided in time to prepare ballots for overseas voters.

Under the state constitution, circulators of petitions have until Aug. 4 to submit signatures required to place ballot questions on the November 2010 ballot.

If legal challenges are filed, they first are heard in District Court in Carson City, and then appeals can be made to the state Supreme Court. Decisions are needed by early September so that ballots can be printed in time for the November election.

Two years ago, several challenges were filed over petitions. Both the District Court and the Supreme Court cleared their schedules to hear the cases because of concern they needed quick decisions so ballots could be printed.

Because dates to circulate petitions are in the constitution, Griffin said, his office and the Legislature cannot move them up any earlier without amending the constitution. That requires the Legislature to pass the enabling bill twice and then voters approving it.

The potential problem with ballot questions also affects measures circulated just in cities or counties.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court threw off the ballot two potential questions that Culinary Local 226 sought to place before voters in the city of Las Vegas' June 2 municipal election.

Election officials had feared that if the court did not act quickly, then ballots to service members and overseas voters would not be printed in time for them to vote on those issues.

Because of the bill signed Wednesday, secretaries of state in Minnesota and Vermont are urging their lawmakers to pass bills to hold primaries earlier.

Other states are considering whether to seek a waiver from the new law.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Contact Capital Bureau Chief Ed Vogel at evogel@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901.