Suit alleges Nevada electoral vote allocation unconstitutional
By SANDRA CHEREB
Associated Press Writer
RENO, Nev. (AP) - A Reno lawyer is asking a federal judge to declare unconstitutional the ''winner-take-all'' system Nevada uses to allocate its four electoral votes in presidential elections.
The 17-page lawsuit filed Tuesday by attorney Carter King in U.S. District Court seeks a restraining order to prevent Nevada's four electoral voters from casting all their ballots for Texas Gov. George W. Bush when they meet Monday in Carson City.
In the alternative, it seeks a finding that Nevada's system is unconstitutional and that such a ruling be applied by the next presidential election in 2004.
The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge David Hagen.
Bush won the Nov. 7 election in Nevada over Vice President Al Gore, 49.5 percent to 46 percent, according to results certified by the state Supreme Court.
Defendants named in the suit include Gov. Kenny Guinn; Secretary of State Dean Heller; and Nevada's four Republican electoral voters, state Sen. Bill Raggio of Reno, former Assemblywoman Jane Ham of Las Vegas, and longtime GOP activists Edwina Prior of Reno and Peggy Wutke of Las Vegas.
However, Prior has said she will out of state when electors meet and will be replaced by Trudy Hushbeck, northern Nevada director for the state GOP. Hushbeck was not named in the suit.
Heller and Kateri Cavin, deputy attorney general, had not seen a copy of the suit and declined to comment on it. But Heller said unless a federal judge intervenes, ''We will be going forward on Monday.''
Heller already has asked for a bill to be written, changing state law to distribute electoral votes to candidates based on the popular vote. The 2001 Nevada Legislature convenes in February.
''The same piece of legislation has been introduced in California now,'' he said. ''I anticipate that many states are going to introduce this type of legislation'' because of the closeness of the Bush-Gore contest and controversy over its undecided outcome.
Under current state law, all Nevada's electoral votes go to the presidential candidate who wins the most votes. Had Vice President Al Gore carried the state, Democratic electoral voters would have cast all four votes for him.
Two states, Maine and Nebraska, apportion electoral votes based on popular vote totals. If Nevada had a similar process, Vice President Al Gore would have received one of Nevada's electoral votes because he won in one congressional district. Bush would have received three.
King's suit argued that the electoral process used in Maine and Nebraska is fair and, in effect, undermines votes cast by Nevadans, thereby making Nevada's process unconstitutional.
''Where votes of citizens are 'watered-down' solely because of their residence ... such difference in weight of vote discriminates against the least favored voter'' and violates equal protection guarantees under the U.S. Constitution, the suit said.
''I don't think it matters that 48 states do it the way we do,'' King said. ''I think it matters two states do it better than we do.''
King also defended the timing of the suit, saying the issue wasn't relevant until the past month.
''It wasn't until Nov. 7 when all of this started because of the closeness of this election and because there was a lot of talk about the Electoral College,'' he said.
''Until this election, I never really thought much about it.''