Supreme Court refuses challenge of Neal's primary election

In a tersely worded order, the Nevada Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to step into the battle over whether Joe Neal's primary election victory should be ruled unconstitutional.

"We have considered the petitions, and the arguments as presented do not persuade us that this court's intervention by way of extraordinary relief is warranted at this time," said the two-page order.

The Independent American Party filed a week ago asking the Nevada Supreme Court to force Neal to face a general election. Neal, D-North Las Vegas, was declared elected after getting more than half the total votes cast by Democrats in his three-candidate primary race Sept. 5.

Under the 1997 law, when only two candidates are running and both are in the same party, they face off in the November general election and all voters get to vote. If there are more than two candidates - but all members of the same party - there is a primary and the two top vote getters face off in the general.

But if one of the three gets more than half the total votes cast in the primary, only his name appears on the general ballot - effectively electing him in the primary.

Neal did just that against Uri Clinton and Christopher Montanez - who are also Democrats - and was declared elected.

IAP Chairman Joel F. Hansen, a lawyer, petitioned the court to force Clark County to put Clinton's name on the Nov. 7 ballot as the second top vote getter. He said declaring Neal elected deprives all non-Democrats the opportunity to vote in the Senate District 4 race and is, therefore, unconstitutional.

He said the top two vote getters should face off in the general election "so that Independent American Party voters in District 4 and other non-Democrats will be re-enfranchised and will have a meaningful opportunity to choose their senator for the next term of the Nevada State Legislature."

The high court, in the order signed by all the justices except Chief Justice Bob Rose, disagreed and denied the petition.