Signatures verified for property tax limitation initiative

CARSON CITY -- An initiative petition pushed by state Senate candidate Sharron Angle to cap property taxes has enough raw signatures of registered voters in all 17 counties to qualify for the November ballot, the secretary of state's office reported Monday.

But the constitutional amendment, which would limit annual property tax increases to 2 percent per year on all property, faces a challenge from the state teachers union aimed at keeping it off the ballot.

Until Angle's ballot question is certified by the secretary of state's office, it has not qualified for the ballot. And that won't come until after the challenge is resolved.

In a letter to Secretary of State Ross Miller dated Friday, an attorney representing the Nevada State Education Association has challenged the legitimacy of some of the signatures collected in Clark County and Carson City.

The letter states defects with some of the affidavits turned in by the petition circulators would disqualify the measure in those jurisdictions.

The alleged defects include the failure of the petition circulators to notarize their affidavits, documents that are required with petitions to prevent fraud. The affidavits on at least 832 of the 1,045 signature pages from Clark County that the teachers union has examined were not notarized, it states.

"Compliance with the notarization requirement is not difficult, and the abject non-compliance demonstrated here cannot be excused," said attorney Thomas Wilczek for the teachers union.

The ballot measure had to qualify in all 17 counties, and have a total of 58,628 signatures statewide as well, to qualify.

Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said last week that a random check of 5 percent of the signatures turned in by Angle and her group, We the People Nevada, gave the group just enough valid signatures of registered voters to qualify.

Angle, a former Republican Assembly member from Reno, needed 40,364 signatures in Clark County. The 5 percent review showed she had 40,571 valid signatures.

So any rejection of signatures in Clark County could jeopardize Angle's petition.

Matt Griffin, deputy secretary of state for elections, said a copy of the letter will be forwarded to Angle and she will be given until Aug. 11 to respond.

Angle could not be reached for comment Monday.

Angle's proposed constitutional amendment would limit property tax increases to 2 percent per year, rather than the current cap of 3 percent for homeowners passed by the Legislature in 2005, until a property is sold.

If the measure is approved by voters in November, it would have to pass again in 2010 before it could take effect.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3900.