Petition rules targeted

Senate candidate Sharron Angle filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking to quash rules that require initiative petition circulators to verify that petition signers are registered voters.

Under rules passed by state lawmakers in 2007, petition circulators must sign a sworn affidavit verifying that everyone who signed the petition was a registered voter or a U.S. citizen, the lawsuit said.

In the complaint, Angle, with ballot advocacy groups We the People and Citizens in Charge, asks that the rules be found unconstitutional for "chilling core political speech."

Petition circulators in Nevada could be prosecuted under the rules, the lawsuit said.

"The circulators are 'chilled' and afraid of signing this affidavits," the lawsuit said. "They are worried, because they might unknowingly allow individuals to sign who are not registered voters in Nevada, since there is no practical way to verify the voter's status while working in the field."

The lawsuit pointed to a case in Oklahoma in which a petition circulator was prosecuted for "technical violations" of elections laws in that state.

About a quarter of all petition signers are not registered voters, the lawsuit said.

The lawsuit names Secretary of State Ross Miller as the defendant. His office, which enforces elections laws, did not return a call for comment Tuesday afternoon.

Angle is running to be the Republican challenger to U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev.

Contact reporter Brian Haynes at bhaynes@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0281.