County erred in letting candidates file for District Court seat

The Clark County registrar of voters allowed candidates to file for a District Court seat that shouldn’t have been open, a county spokesperson confirmed Thursday.

Casey Quinn and Melanie Thomas filed to run for the Department 27 seat during the judicial filing period that ended Jan. 12, but county spokesperson Stephanie Wheatley said the seat was “inadvertently placed on the ballot” and that candidates should not have been able to file for the seat because Gov. Joe Lombardo had not officially declared it vacant by the time of the filing deadline.

Lombardo declared the seat vacant Wednesday evening, according to a spokesperson with the governor’s office.

Quinn declined to comment. Thomas could not be reached for comment Friday.

The seat was vacated on Jan. 10 by District Judge Nancy Allf, who announced on Dec. 4 that she would be retiring after nearly 13 years on the bench. According to state statute, an office must be declared vacant prior to the end of the filing period in order for the seat to be open during the regular judicial filing period.

By vacating the seat — nearly a year before a newly elected judge would be sworn in — Allf triggered an appointment process to fill the position. Seven attorneys, including some in private practice and some who work in the Clark County district attorney’s office, applied for the seat during a monthlong application period that ended on Jan. 11.

But not one of the seven applicants filed to run for the seat in the regular election. That’s likely because the application details another filing period that begins in June.

“To be placed on the November 2024 general election ballot, the candidate filing will be pursuant to NRS 293.165, during the special filing period, running June 16 to July 26, 2024,” the application reads.

Wheatley said county officials anticipate that a special candidate filing period will be conducted from June 17 to July 26, during which Quinn, Thomas and any other qualified individual will be allowed to file for the seat. Those candidates then will appear on the general election ballot.

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on X.