Janine Hansen
Age: 54
Hometown: Born and raised in Sparks and lived there until September 2005. Now, I live in Elko.
Occupation: Owner of my own public relations business.
Family: Married with four children and five grandchildren.
Political background: Independent, active in issue politics for 35 years in Nevada. I have dedicated my life to working with the local, state and federal government to protect our liberties. I have worked as a citizen lobbyist at the Nevada Legislature every session since 1971. I have written a newsletter on state and national issues since 1974 and published the Nevada Families Voter Guide every election year since 1988. I have served for many years as the state president of Nevada Eagle Forum, which has been involved in numerous state and national issues. I served on the U.S. Justice Department's project on family violence - the Task Force on Families in Crisis. In 2000, I was the Petition Chairman overseeing 16 counties to Protect Marriage. In 2004, I was the Axe the TAX Petition Chairman covering 16 counties. I am the Executive Director of the Nevada Committee for Full Statehood, which works on property rights and water issues.
The Help America Vote Act pushed federal authority farther into state and local elections than ever before. Is that a good thing or a bad thing and why? What is positive in HAVA and what parts of the law do you believe need to be changed?
The Help America Vote Act is a violation of the federal-state division of powers. It was imposed on the state through partially funded mandates with the acquiescence of the Legislature. I opposed HAVA in testimony at Legislature. Election law was one of the last vestiges of State authority. Nevada's election laws were superior to most of the HAVA mandates. HAVA mandated electronic voting machines, but no paper trail for ballot security or recounts. Recently, the risks of computer/software manipulation of electronic machines has been exposed in the national media. HAVA mandated provisional ballots, allowing people to vote who weren't properly registered. Provisional voting is fraught with potential abuses and fraud. The Statewide Voter Registration System is a radical change from Nevada's policy of county registration. It potentially makes the sensitive personal voter registration information more vulnerable to identity theft, particularly for those who have included their social security numbers. HAVA has been very costly and it is questionable whether is has improved the voting system in a significant way. An active Secretary of State should work with the Legislature to correct any lingering problems. Unfortunately, HAVA did little to improve the security of our ballots.
Contact information:
Telephone: (775) 397-6859
E-mail: info@iapn.org
Web site: www.iapn.org or www.independentamerican.org
Ross Miller
Age: 30
Hometown: Las Vegas
Occupation: Deputy district attorney, Clark County
Family: Wife Lesley Miller; daughter Cameron Miller; father former Governor Bob Miller; and mother Sandy Miller
Political background: Democrat
The Help America Vote Act pushed federal authority farther into state and local elections than ever before. Is that a good thing or a bad thing and why? What is positive in HAVA and what parts of the law do you believe need to be changed?
During the 2000 election, irregularities in voting systems and processes were unveiled, which prompted a comprehensive plan for implementing changes to the electoral process. HAVA's positive impact included the requirement for a statewide voter registration database, replacement of punch-card voting machines, improvement of voter education and poll-worker training and the requirement for provisional ballots. However, Nevada needs to implement a statewide voter registration database centralized in the Secretary of State's office.
The current bottom-up statutory framework, which allows the counties to provide their independently maintained registration database to the state, is insufficient. Nevada must implement a top-down, centralized statewide registration database and take aggressive steps to purge voter rolls of those who are not qualified to vote.
Contact information:
Telephone: (702) 251-3246
Email: ross@rossmiller2006.com
Danny Tarkanian
Age: 45
Hometown: Las Vegas
Occupation: Small businessman
Family: Wife, Amy; daughters, Ava, Ashley and Lois
Political background: Republican, ran for state Senate in 2004
The Help America Vote Act pushed federal authority farther into state and local elections than ever before. Is that a good thing or a bad thing and why? What is positive in HAVA and what parts of the law do you believe need to be changed?
Although I am a strong supporter of the 10th Amendment the Congress was will within it's rights to specify requirements for Federal Elections under Article 1, Section 4 of the U.S. Constitution.
The main fault I find in HAVA is the lack of a proper paper trail when using Electronic Voting Machines. Nevada has taken the lead in this area and our requirement for this paper trail should be instituted nationwide.
In addition, I find all mandates from Congress that are not fully funded abhorrent. HAVA is not fully funded and it should be. Thankfully Nevada was well on our way to implementing full electronic voting before HAVA was passed and we did not have the horrendous bill for switching. The requirement for a statewide-voter file was not fully funded and should have been.
Contact information:
Telephone: (702) 378-5213
E-Mail: team_tarkanian@dannytarkanian.com