Anthony bid for new election axed in court
A Clark County District judge on Thursday denied Las Vegas Councilman Stavros Anthony’s petition for a new election after his razor-thin defeat last month for a seat on the County Commission.
Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez ruled against the petition “because the election was not prevented,” despite arguments to the contrary by Anthony’s campaign, the court filing shows.
The campaign cited state law, which requires a new election if one is deemed to have been “prevented.”
“Judge Gonzalez issued a ruling today, Christmas Eve, so given the holiday and a time for our families, we will get together after Christmas and discuss our options,” Anthony said in a statement.
The campaign argued that 139 voting discrepancies identified in the election should have prevented certification, a premise that Gonzalez had previously rejected, and should trigger a redo. While discrepancies are not uncommon in any election, they exceeded the slim margin of victory, casting doubt on the outcome, as county Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria acknowledged.
The all-democrat commission, however, opted to leave the dispute in the hands of the courts after flirting with the idea of calling a special election.
Democrat former Secretary of State Ross Miller defeated Anthony, a Republican, by just 15 votes after a recount of more than 153,000 ballots cast in the contest. Anthony paid nearly $80,000 for a re-examination of the results after the initial count showed that he lost by 10 votes.
A message left with Miller’s campaign was not immediately returned Thursday. He is expected to be sworn in next month and will replace term-limited Commissioner Larry Brown as representative of District C in the northwest valley.