Las Vegas judge will reconsider ruling to overturn election
A Las Vegas judge on Thursday agreed to reconsider his decision to overturn a Nevada Assembly election because the winner was late in filing campaign finance reports.
Clark County District Judge Jim Crockett ruled on Sept. 13 to nullify the Assembly District 5 Republican primary election after the defeated candidate, Mack Miller, sued the winner, Jason Burke. Miller claimed Burke should be declared ineligible for office because he failed to file timely campaign finance reports.
Although the Nevada Constitution does not recognize late reports as a candidate disqualifier, Crockett agreed and deemed Miller the rightful winner. Burke asked the judge to reconsider his ruling — which Crockett granted on Thursday — and the two sides will return to court on Oct. 9 to hash out the case over the GOP candidate for the Las Vegas district.
“I’m thrilled the judge agreed to reconsider,” said Matthew Callister, Burke’s attorney. “This is an enormous issue. You’re talking about whether or not anybody, any judge at any level, can unilaterally for whatever reason overturn the will of the people. That’s a very fundamental democratic question.”
Crockett initially stood by his decision to disqualify Burke because of late reports, though he acknowledged the negative perception that a judge had the “audacity” to overturn the will of voters. Burke won the June 12 election by 122 votes.
“I think that the results of an election are undermined when the financial disclosures are not filed in a timely manner,” Crockett said. “That’s my concern because that casts an even broader shadow over the election if the voters were denied the opportunity to fully evaluate the candidates.”
Callister argued that Nevada punishes late filers with a fine issued by the Secretary of State’s Office — not being disqualified and thrown off the ballot. Burke filed his outstanding reports — which reported only a $100 loan from himself to his campaign — on July 3 and paid fines.
“I don’t think that’s any more of a cure than a bank robber trying to cure his robbery by coming back with the cash,” said Miller’s attorney, Mitchell Posin. “The wrong has been done.”
Another sticking point for the judge was Burke not showing up for court on Sept. 13.
“I was troubled by the fact that Mr. Burke for whatever reason wasn’t present and hadn’t filed anything in opposition to the statement of contest,” Crockett said.
But Burke said he wasn’t given notice about the hearing.
Wayne Thorley, who oversees elections at the Secretary of State’s Office, confirmed that ballots have been printed for the Nov. 6 election with Burke’s name. The Secretary of State’s office filed a brief supporting Burke’s motion to reconsider the judge’s decision, but did not comment on Thursday’s hearing.
After the hearing, Miller said he believes the judge is “trying to be as fair as he can.”
“He wants to make sure the people know he’s considering the weight of this matter,” Miller said.
Burke said he’s ready to put the court case behind him and focus on winning the general election. He faces Democratic Assemblywoman Brittney Miller.
“It feels like all of my time and efforts should be focused on the voters,” Burke said, “not toward a fault judgment.”
Contact Ramona Giwargis at rgiwargis@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4538. Follow @RamonaGiwargis on Twitter.
