Foreclosures might spawn vote trickery

Nevada's skyrocketing foreclosure rate combined with its growing profile as a battleground state in next month's elections could encourage political groups to falsely challenge voters who changed addresses after losing their homes.

Secretary of State Ross Miller warned of the tactic Wednesday and noted that it had cropped up in other states where the presidential candidates are locked in tight races.

But while in some states a political faction has legal grounds to challenge voters who changed residences without updating their registrations, Nevada gives more leeway to voters who relocate, Miller said.

Nevada law states that even if you move to another city, you can vote in the same precinct as before if you stay in the same county, he said.

Those who tell voters otherwise are incorrect, he said. And if they knowingly spread such falsehoods or aggressively discourage qualified voters from going to the polls, they might be guilty of coercion or intimidation.

"To the extent there is widespread abuse, we will go after the claims," Miller said.

State election officials and civil rights activists said it was important to zero in on the foreclosure angle because Nevada leads the nation in that type of home loss, making a large voting segment susceptible to those who might use unscrupulous tactics to give their candidates an edge.

In the upcoming election, the concern is a new one "because we haven't had this rate of foreclosure in the past," said Rebecca Gasca, public advocate in the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada's Reno office. "Our state is a swing state, showing how important this election is ... and how important is to engage all voters."

Gasca said that voters who failed to update their addresses can vote in their previous precincts by showing up at the polling place on Election Day and formally swearing that their old addresses were correct.

If a Henderson resident moved to Las Vegas after losing a home to foreclosure, that person still could vote for Henderson City Council members, Gasca said.

Miller said leaders in the state's Democratic and Republican parties have sworn they would not discourage people who suffered foreclosure from voting.

But outside partisan groups might try to mislead voters, Miller said. For that reason, it's crucial to educate voters about their rights, he said.

In Michigan, the campaign of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama filed a federal lawsuit against the Republican Party to keep it from using foreclosure lists to ferret out Democratic voters who might be ineligible.

Bob Walsh, a spokesman for Miller, said that foreclosures and voter registration records are public, and it's not too difficult to learn the party affiliation of someone whose home was foreclosed.

But Nevada does not allow an organization to challenge a person's right to vote, said Matt Griffin, the state's deputy secretary for elections.

A person must file the challenge, Griffin said. If the person challenges multiple voters, then each challenge must be filed separately against each voter.

The person must live in the same precinct as the voter in question and show personal knowledge about why the voter is ineligible, he said.

Not living in the county or not being a citizen would disqualify someone from voting, he added.

The challenger must sign a sworn statement under penalty of perjury, Griffin said, and be willing to testify under oath in court.

County registrars will take written challenges to voters' eligibility Monday through Friday of next week, he said, noting that a five-day window is all that is allowed during an election.

Verbal challenges can be done at the polling site on Election Day, said Larry Lomax, Clark County registrar of voters.

The challenge would be made to the supervisor and workers, also known as the precinct's election board, Lomax said.

As with a formal written challenge, the person must sign an affidavit, he said.

Lomax said that during his 10-year tenure, he has never seen a verbal challenge in the county. Some written ones have been filed, but none of any consequence, he said.

Given that history, he does not expect to see a barrage of challenges or other tactics to disrupt the election, he said.

"There are always rumors that it's going to happen, but it never does," Lomax said.

Contact reporter Scott Wyland at swyland@reviewjournal.com or 702-455-4519.