EDITORIAL: New election for commission seat is the right call

Cynics sometimes snicker at the mantra common among get-out-the-vote advocates that every vote matters. But the exhortation proved more an important truism than a tired cliche in the race to represent District C on the Clark County Commission.

When the numbers were tabulated in the district — which includes parts of the central valley and the northwest — Democrat Ross Miller led Republican Stavros Anthony by just 10 votes out of more than 153,000 ballots cast. “My campaign manager … was modeling and predicting a single-digit victory all week,” Mr. Miller said in jest. “I’m just relieved that I won by a double-digit blowout.”

But Mr. Miller’s victory party will have to wait. On Monday, the commission certified the Nov. 3 election results with the exception of the District C race and told county election officials to prepare a plan for a special election in the Miller-Anthony contest. The move came after the county registrar of voters told the panel that the number of ballot discrepancies — 139 — far exceeded Mr. Miller’s victory margin.

The usually sensible Mr. Miller responded by suing to overturn the commission’s decision. That’s unfortunate. Were he in the opposite position, he would be entitled to reconsideration, as is Mr. Anthony.

The problems identified involve mail voting issues, duplicate votes and differences between voter check-in numbers at certain polling sites and the number of ballots cast. It’s worth noting that discrepancies are common in every election — there is no perfect system — but are magnified in this race because of Mr. Miller’s minuscule advantage.

While it may be an inconvenience for District C voters to be subjected to another election campaign and the mailers and robocalls that inevitably go along with it, they can at least take solace in knowing they have two high-quality candidates from which to choose. Mr. Miller, the son of former Gov. Bob Miller, served for two terms as Nevada secretary of state; Mr. Anthony is a retired Metro police captain who currently sits on the Las Vegas City Council.

A special election is relatively unusual, but county commissioners made the right call. The cost of holding a second round of balloting could top $150,000. Yet that’s a small price to pay to ensure that the candidate who eventually represents District C residents on the state’s most powerful legislative body is indeed the candidate who received the most support.

And if political fatigue tempts any district voters to sit this one out, they’ll be making a mistake. This election do-over is likely to be extremely close once again. A handful of votes could swing the race one way or the other. That’s the power of participatory democracy.