Assembly bill would end early voting

CARSON CITY — One day before early voting starts in most municipal elections in Southern Nevada, a Mesquite assemblyman has introduced a bill to halt the popular practice.

Assemblyman Cresent Hardy said he was asked by a Las Vegas group, which he declined to name, to introduce Assembly Bill 311. Members of the group will testify on why the change is needed when a hearing is conducted on the bill, he said.

“I think early voting takes away from the institution (Election Day voting), like we used to have,” said Hardy, R-Mesquite.

“It is popular with some people. But the concern is it leads to a lot of voting violations. Some will say (his bill) will make it harder to get people to vote, but if you are dedicated you still will vote.”

He said he liked the time when Election Day was considered a big deal to people.

While the group behind the bill believes voting violations have occurred because of early voting, Hardy said he did not personally know of such violations. He mentioned that supporters of U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., were bused to the polls last year, but acknowledged that is not against the law.

“To be honest, I don’t think it (the bill) will go anywhere,” said Hardy . “But I told these people I would introduce it.”

Five Republicans and Democratic Assemblyman Harvey Munford of Las Vegas have signed on as co-sponsors of the bill.

Early voting starts today for municipal elections in Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City. It began Wednesday in North Las Vegas and starts next Wednesday in Mesquite.

Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said early voting is “incredibly popular” and he knows of no voting violations caused by early voting.

If there is an organized group in Las Vegas opposed to early voting, then Lomax said its members never have spoken with him. “I don’t know where they come up with these accusations,” he said.

Since 1994, Nevada has allowed people to vote in various places during the two weeks before Election Day.

Matt Griffin, a former deputy secretary of state for elections, said about half of the voting in the 2010 election was through early voting.

If AB311 becomes law, Lomax estimated the county would have to spend $5 million to buy 1,000 more voting machines to reduce the long lines that would result .

Thirty-one states allow early voting.