Ballots Hit Mail Monday to Disenfranchised Voters in Ward 2 Election Snafu

Some 40 Fernley residents who voted in the November election will be receiving ballots in the mail in the next few days as the city moves to correct a problem that surfaced after polls closed. The problem came to light when a number of voters along Winnie's Lane reported that they were directed to vote in Ward 5, when in fact they were registered to vote in Ward 2.
Following the primary in August, the contest for the Ward 2 City Council seat boiled down to the two Donalds, Parsons and Howard. In the end, Parsons edged Howard in a narrow three-vote victory.
That win for Parsons may or may not be sustained depending on the outcome of the city's initiative to correct the county's coding error that occurred because of a glitch in the county's system, which did not update a particular neighborhood. After the November general election Lyon County Clerk/Treasurer Nikki Bryan said that some 47 voters along Winnie's Lane were incorrectly coded as being in Ward 5, instead of Ward 2 as they should have been. Of those 47, there were 40 who actually cast ballots at the polls.
This move by the city is designed to take the matter out of the hands of the courts, which intervened just hours before Parsons was set to be sworn in on January 7. Third Judicial District Judge David Huff issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the swearing in of the presumptive winner in Ward 2 based on a request from Secretary of State Ross Miller.
Ultimately Miller's office has the responsibility for overseeing all elections in the state, and he decided to intervene seeking an emergency injunction. Judge Huff issued the temporary restraining order just before noon on the day city council members were scheduled to be sworn into office. There's a hearing set for January 26--the same day ballots are scheduled to go out in the mail to voters--on the emergency request for a writ of mandamus.
During a special city council meeting earlier this month, City Attorney Jeff McGowan told the council that based on his conversations with the Nevada Secretary of State's office, the special election option would be sufficient for Miller to drop court action. However, it remains at Judge Huff's discretion whether or not to heed any request from the Secretary of State to drop further court review of the election. There is also the potential for a court challenge coming from Parsons.
Once those 40 voters receive the ballots in the mail this week, they must then take the form to city hall where officials will verify their identities and the ballots may then be cast. City Clerk Lena Shumway said ballots must be in by the close of business on Tuesday, February 3. Whoever comes out on top will then be sworn in at the council meeting set for February 4.

Special Council Meeting Set to Mull Options in Ward 2 Election Snafu

The Fernley City Council will meet in special session at 5 p.m. next Wednesday to consider what, if anything, can be done to correct the voting snafu that occurred during the November election in Ward 2.

This past Wednesday, with just hours prior to the oath of office being administered, Third Judicial District Judge David Huff issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the swearing in of the presumptive winner in Ward 2, Donald Parsons.
The race between Parsons and Donald Howard came down to a razor-thin three vote victory for Parsons. However, rumblings of voting irregularities began to surface the day after the general election. Following an investigation, Lyon County Clerk/Treasurer Nikki Bryan said that some 47 voters along Winnie's Lane were incorrently coded as being in Ward 5, instead of Ward 2 as they should have been.
Although the county readily admitted that the coding error was a problem with updates made to the county system, the remedy for the glitch soon became a political hot potato that was tossed back and forth between the county and city for a number of weeks.

Ultimately, Nevada Secretary of State Ross Miller, whose office has the responsibility for overseeing all elections in the state, decided to intervene and seek an emergency injunction. Judge Huff issued the temporary restraining order just before noon Wednesday, and set a hearing for January 26 on the emergency request for a writ of mandamus. Simply stated, a writ of mandamus compels an elected official or agency to comply with the law and perform their duties.

As the photo above illustrates, Parsons was noticeably absent from the swearing in ceremony last Wednesday. Fernley Municipal Judge Dan Bauer (right) did administer the oath of office to Curt Chaffin, Ward 4; Cal Eilrich, Ward 5; and Kelly Malloy, Ward 1. The Ward 2 seat remains vacant until the voting situation is resolved either by the council or the court.

The special council session next week is slated for the sole purpose of brainstorming possible solutions to the Ward 2 situation. Exact wording on the agenda states: "Address issues concerning the November 4, 2008 general election results in relation to Ward 2 between candidates Donald Parsons, Sr. and Donald Howard including but not limited to taking possible action in accordance with NRS 293C.710 or any other lawful action in relation to the aforementioned election results."

Just how much leeway the council has in developing a fix for the situation remains to be seen. Some city hall observers have suggested just allowing the 47 residents to vote again with a correct ballot, which would be the least costly alternative, but it might not be a lawful alternative.

However, the wording of NRS 293C.710 may be open to some interpretation: "If a city election is prevented in any precinct or district by reason of the loss or destruction of the ballots intended for that precinct or district, or any other cause, the election officers for that precinct or district shall make an affidavit setting forth that fact and transmit it to the governing body of the appropriate city. Upon receipt of the affidavit and upon the application of any candidate for any city office to be voted for by the registered voters of that precinct or district, the governing body of the city shall order a new election in that precinct or district."

The fact that those impacted by the county coding error have been pinpointed, the limited scope of the problem may mitigate the need to conduct a new election for the entirety of Ward 2. However, that question remains to be determined either by the council or the court.