No Election Fraud Found in Nevada

Nevada’s top election official is urging voters to verify their registration status to make sure their eligibility to vote in the November 6th election.  Secretary of State Ross Miller says an investigation by his Elections Integrity Task Force found no widespread evidence that voter registration fraud in Nevada.

But Miller says there may be isolated incidents where paperwork was destroyed or not submitted for people who registered through a third-party group. While the deadline to register online or by mail has passed, voters have until October 16th to register or update their information in person at their county election office.

Miller adds that investigations into registration fraud allegations are ongoing, and anyone with evidence that their form was destroyed should contact his office.

Meanwhile, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez is campaigning in Nevada for Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. The Romney campaign says Martinez will appear at three events Saturday in the Las Vegas area, starting with a rally at Romney’s state campaign headquarters.

Martinez, the nation’s first Hispanic female governor, will greet voters at a campaign office in eastern Las Vegas and there will be an event in the suburban community of Henderson. The governor fluently speaks Spanish and could help Romney reach out to Hispanics, which account for 27 percent of Nevada’s population.

Congresswoman Shelley Berkley and Senator Dean Heller met for a second time as they battle for the seat now held by Heller. The Republican has expanded his lead over his democrat challenger, according to a new poll by the Las Vegas Review-Journal that shows Heller ahead 47 percent to 39 percent in the senate race. the survey had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percentage points.

The Berkley campaign dismisses the poll out of hand, claiming it’s flawed

Then there’s this — accusations of campaign untruths and distortions dominated a taped debate between Democratic state Senator Steven Horsford and Republican businessman Danny Tarkanian just 26 days before voters decide who’ll represent Nevada’s new 4th congressional district. Nearly each time the Vegas PBS camera turned to Tarkanian, he accused Horsford of misrepresenting his positions on issues including immigration, abortion, economic policies and Social Security.

Horsford, in return, accused Tarkanian of “not being very clear or honest.”

As this played out across the state’s airways, Tarkanian downplayed legal moves by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. which has begun seizing his Nevada assets. A federal judge in California signed a $17 million judgment in May against Tarkanian and his family, seeking repayment of a real estate loan Tarkanian and others guaranteed for a developer.

Lawyers for the FDIC argue that Tarkanian’s lawyers missed an Oct. 8 deadline to file an opposition to the seizure, resulting in a default. Tarkanian says his lawyer missed the deadline when his father died.

Speaking of Horsford, President Obama is endorsing him in Nevada’s 4th Congressional District race.  A Obama statement calls the state senate majority leader a “tireless and outspoken advocate for Nevada’s middle class families.”

Finally, Nevada’s foreclosure rate remains fifth in the nation after big drops in activity compared with last year. RealtyTrac reported Nevada’s September foreclosure rate is down 19% from August and down more than 75% from the same time last year. The drop reflects the national foreclosure picture for the month of September.

RealtyTrac reports the state also saw its lowest total number of foreclosure filings nationally since July 2007.