Nevada Voters Can Still Choose 'None' for President

Nevada voters will still be able to choose “none of the above” in this year's presidential election if President Barack Obama and Republican Mitt Romney fail to win their support before Nov. 6.

 

State Republican leaders had sued to get the language off the November ballot in hopes that those who were dissatisfied with both candidates would pick Romney in a close race if forced to choose, according to the Las Vegas Sun. But a panel of judges with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay in the GOP lawsuit Wednesday, in effect ordering the "none" box to be left on the ballot.

 

In the meantime the panel said the Republican challenge could proceed through normal district court channels, and criticized the handling of the case by U.S. District Judge Robert Jones who had earlier ruled that the none option should be taken off the ballot.

 

Circuit Judge Stephen Reinhardt had some tough words for his lower federal court colleague, suggesting that Jones had issued the ruling knowing that the state would have no time to appeal his decision before the deadline this week for absentee and regular ballots to be proofed and printed.

 

"His dilatory tactics appear to serve no purpose other than to seek to prevent the state from taking an appeal of his decision before it must print its ballots,” Reinhardt said.

 

According to the Sun, the 'none' option for voting has been on the ballot in Nevada since 1975, a decision that lawmakers made believing  voters should be allowed to voice their dissatisfaction with candidates as much as their support. The none votes are counted, but have no effect on the final tally.