Will Ashjian be disqualified?

Expect Jon Ashjian’s Tea Party candidacy to be challenged Monday in Carson City.

The challenge seems pretty straight forward: I hear that on March 1 Ashjian filed as a Tea Party candidate for U.S. Senate, swearing all the information in his affidavit was accurate under penalty of perjury.

Trouble is, it appears he was still a registered Republican at the time.

On March 2, Ashjian changed his party registration, I understand.

This might be a chicken-egg procedural problem – which came first, the Tea Party, or the Tea Party candidate? – but it doesn’t take much to make a challenge stick.

Some Nevada Revised Statute excerpts for your reading enjoyment:

NRS 293.182 Written challenges concerning qualifications of candidates.

1. After a person files a declaration of candidacy or an acceptance of candidacy to be a candidate for an office, and not later than 5 days after the last day the person may withdraw his or her candidacy pursuant to NRS 293.202, an elector may file with the filing officer for the office a written challenge of the person on the grounds that the person fails to meet any qualification required for the office pursuant to the Constitution or a statute of this State, including, without limitation, a requirement concerning age or residency. Before accepting the challenge from the elector, the filing officer shall notify the elector that if the challenge is found by a court to be frivolous, the elector may be required to pay the reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs of the challenged person.

2. A challenge filed pursuant to subsection 1 must:

(a) Indicate each qualification the person fails to meet;

(b) Have attached all documentation and evidence supporting the challenge; and

3. Upon receipt of a challenge pursuant to subsection 1:

(a) The Secretary of State shall immediately transmit the challenge to the Attorney General.

(b) A filing officer other than the Secretary of State shall immediately transmit the challenge to the district attorney.

4. If the Attorney General or district attorney determines that probable cause exists to support the challenge, the Attorney General or district attorney shall, not later than 5 working days after receiving the challenge, petition a court of competent jurisdiction to order the person to appear before the court. Upon receipt of such a petition, the court shall enter an order directing the person to appear before the court at a hearing, at a time and place to be fixed by the court in the order, to show cause why the challenge is not valid. A certified copy of the order must be served upon the person. The court shall give priority to such proceedings over all other matters pending with the court, except for criminal proceedings.

5. If, at the hearing, the court determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the challenge is valid or that the person otherwise fails to meet any qualification required for the office pursuant to the Constitution or a statute of this State, or if the person fails to appear at the hearing:

(a) The name of the person must not appear on any ballot for the election for the office for which the person filed the declaration of candidacy or acceptance of candidacy; and

(b) The person is disqualified from entering upon the duties of the office for which he or she filed the declaration of candidacy or acceptance of candidacy.

6. If, at the hearing, the court determines that the challenge is frivolous, the court may order the elector who filed the challenge to pay the reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs of the challenged person.

(Added to NRS by 2001, 671)

NRS 293.184 Penalty for knowingly and willfully making false statement on declaration or acceptance of candidacy. In addition to any other penalty provided by law, if a person knowingly and willfully files a declaration of candidacy or acceptance of candidacy which contains a false statement:

1. The name of the person must not appear on any ballot for the election for which the person filed the declaration of candidacy or acceptance of candidacy; and

2. The person is disqualified from entering upon the duties of the office for which he or she was a candidate.

NRS 293.1725 Candidates: Submission of list to Secretary of State; filing of declaration of candidacy and certificate of nomination.

1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, a minor political party that wishes to place its candidates for partisan office on the ballot for a general election and:

(a) Is entitled to do so pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) of subsection 2 of NRS 293.1715;

(b) Files or will file a petition pursuant to paragraph (c) of subsection 2 of NRS 293.1715; or

(c) Whose candidates are entitled to appear on the ballot pursuant to subsection 3 of NRS 293.1715, must file with the Secretary of State a list of its candidates for partisan office not earlier than the first Monday in March preceding the election nor later than 5 p.m. on the second Friday after the first Monday in March. The list must be signed by the person so authorized in the certificate of existence of the minor political party before a notary public or other person authorized to take acknowledgments. The Secretary of State shall strike from the list each candidate who is not entitled to appear on the ballot pursuant to subsection 3 of NRS 293.1715 if the minor political party is not entitled to place candidates on the ballot pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 293.1715. The list may be amended not later than 5 p.m. on the second Friday after the first Monday in March.

2. The Secretary of State shall immediately forward a certified copy of the list of candidates for partisan office of each minor political party to the filing officer with whom each candidate must file his or her declaration of candidacy.

3. Each candidate on the list must file his or her declaration of candidacy with the appropriate filing officer and pay the fee required by NRS 293.193 not earlier than the date on which the list of candidates for partisan office of the minor political party is filed with the Secretary of State nor later than 5 p.m. on the second Friday after the first Monday in March.

4. A minor political party that wishes to place candidates for the offices of President and Vice President of the United States on the ballot and has qualified to place the names of its candidates for partisan office on the ballot for the general election pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 293.1715 must file with the Secretary of State a certificate of nomination for these offices not later than the first Tuesday in September.

(Added to NRS by 1987, 1360; A 1989, 2161; 1993, 2175; 1997, 316; 1999, 1391, 3550; 2003, 1642; 2009, 1261)

NRS 293.174 Challenge of qualification.

1. If the qualification of a minor political party is challenged, all affidavits and documents in support of the challenge must be filed not later than 5 p.m. on the third Friday in June. Any judicial proceeding resulting from the challenge must be set for hearing not more than 5 days after the third Friday in June. A challenge pursuant to this subsection must be filed with the First Judicial District Court if the petition was filed with the Secretary of State.

2. If the qualification of a candidate of a minor political party other than a candidate for the office of President or Vice President of the United States is challenged, all affidavits and documents in support of the challenge must be filed not later than 5 p.m. on the fourth Monday in March. Any judicial proceeding resulting from the challenge must be set for hearing not more than 5 days after the fourth Monday in March. A challenge pursuant to this subsection must be filed with:

(a) The First Judicial District Court; or

(b) If a candidate who filed a declaration of candidacy with a county clerk is challenged, the district court for the county where the declaration of candidacy was filed.