IT’S SIMPLY A MATTER OF UPHOLDING THE LAW
To the editor:
In response to your April 2 editorial, "Right to petition":
This election cycle, we are witnessing a significant number of petitions intended to influence important policy decisions in this state. The constitutional role of Nevada's secretary of state is to enforce applicable laws regarding our state's petition process.
The right of the people to petition our government is among the most fundamental rights in our state. As Nevada's chief elections officer, it is my sworn responsibility to protect, defend and enforce the state's elections laws, including provisions of Nevada's Constitution regarding recall petitions.
With that responsibility in mind, I issued an interpretation on March 25 clarifying the procedures county registrars should legally employ when verifying whether a sufficient number of signatures have been obtained to qualify a recall petition for the ballot.
The interpretation concluded that a county registrar is required to verify whether a person who signs a recall petition actually voted in the election in which the officer subject to the petition was elected. The question of whether this conclusion runs afoul of a long-standing practice to either ignore or misapply the law, or conflicts with an attitude of "this is the way we've always done it," is in my view, irrelevant to carrying out my duties. It is my obligation as secretary of state to enforce the policy decisions enacted by the people and legislators of this state, irrespective of my personal views.
The interpretation clarified the intent of a law which passed twice through our Legislature and passed overwhelmingly by a vote of the people.
The will of the people in enacting this policy is clearly evidenced by a plain reading of the Nevada Constitution. Similarly, a Nevada Supreme Court case held that the provision applies to people who "actually voted." Finally, an examination of the legislative intent behind the applicable provision of our constitution reveals that our Legislature intended that the law apply to citizens who "actually voted." The relevant documents can be found at www.nvsos.gov/recallinterp.pdf.
The rights of individuals to petition our government should not be subverted by those who choose to ignore our laws, nor should our ballots be distorted with questions that qualified through fraudulent or illegal practices. As secretary of state, I will continue to aggressively enforce, protect and defend all laws regarding petitions so that we may preserve this fundamental right.
Ross Miller
CARSON CITY
THE WRITER IS NEVADA'S SECRETARY OF STATE.
