NLV voting ‘crimes’ not likely to be prosecuted

The man who voted in a disputed North Las Vegas election -- though he is not a resident of the city -- might have unwittingly committed a crime. But such cases are rarely prosecuted in Clark County, officials said.

Such voting mistakes "probably happen a whole lot but don't come out," said Ron Bloxham, a chief deputy district attorney for the county. Prosecution "is rare in comparison to the number of times" such errors probably occur, he said.

Election officials often say no election is perfect, and the North Las Vegas election was no exception. But votes cast in the contest for the City Council's Ward 4 seat drew unusual scrutiny after Wade Wagner, a 48-year-old dentist, defeated incumbent Councilman Richard Cherchio, 64, by a single vote.

Cherchio's representatives are scouring voter records for irregularities to support their election challenge, which was filed Wednesday. In addition to what officials already knew -- an election worker allowed one voter to cast a ballot in the wrong ward on election night -- the lawsuit alleges that "at least two other voters were permitted to cast invalid ballots" in the election.

One of those voters admitted to the Review-Journal on Thursday that he voted in the contest but doesn't live there, saying he didn't understand election laws prohibited doing so. The man registered and voted from his brother's home in North Las Vegas, he said.

Nevada law says a person who "willfully" gives false information to register to vote is guilty of a felony, Bloxham said.

Proving such an offense is a different matter, he said. Questions of legal residency are particularly tricky in court.

The second "other voter" cited in the lawsuit is Mayor Shari Buck's 23-year-old son, a college student in Utah who is registered both there and in North Las Vegas. He voted by absentee ballot in the Ward 4 race and has not voted in Utah.

Bloxham said it is technically a misdemeanor, under Nevada law, to be registered to vote in more than one county at a time. But such a violation is even less likely to be prosecuted because prosecutors probably would have to prove the voter had the "intent" to vote in more than one county, he said.

"That doesn't seem like a violation," he said.

Buck, who endorsed Wagner, said her son has only voted in North Las Vegas and wasn't aware he was registered in Utah.

Election officials this week sent Buck's son a letter asking him to specify where he wants to be registered.

Neither of the "other voters" cases is unusual in an election, said Larry Lomax, county registrar of voters.

"These kinds of things happen all the time, but we don't find out about it," he said.

The courts usually resolve residency issues raised during an election, he said.

Wagner won the June 7 election with 1,831 votes. Cherchio got 1,830. A July 22 recount came up with the same result.

Contact reporter Lynnette Curtis at lcurtis@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0285.