‘None of the above’ looms in Nev. vote

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS

Choosing “none of the above,” the default option on quizzes, is looming as a potential factor in the dead-heat Nevada Senate race for voters who don’t like either Democrat Harry Reid or Republican Sharron Angle.

Voters in the Silver State have nine choices on the ballot next week — eight are candidates, including Reid and Angle.

The number of voters who choose “None of these candidates” is expected to be small, but in a close race, those who decide to boycott the ballot could make the difference.

Reid knows the risk: A dozen years, ago he pulled off a 428-vote re-election victory over then- Republican Rep. John Ensign, while “none” received 8,125 votes, far more than his winning margin.

“A very small part of the electorate is lingering out there because they don’t like either choice,” said Republican consultant Ryan Erwin. But “every vote that goes for someone other than Sharron Angle is a vote for Harry Reid.”

The choice that is no choice has been on statewide Nevada ballots since 1976, added as a way to entice greater turnout by providing a protest vote. This year, it’s clearly a lure for voters fed up with everything — Washington, the sour economy and a corrosive campaign between two candidates prone to cringe-inducing gaffes.

The campaigns are making calculations about how it will play into the tally Tuesday, but there is some dispute over which candidate suffers more if a voter chooses to stiff-arm the field. Recent polls have shown the choice is favored by a small slice of voters, 2 percent to 4 percent.

Reid is unlikely to get more than 47 percent or 48 percent of the vote, so he needs to keep Angle below that level to win, say campaign analysts. A relentless TV-ad campaign depicting the tea-party favorite as a fringe conservative appears aimed at convincing voters that even if they can’t stomach him, don’t pull the lever for her.

Reid spokesman Kelly Steele said the crowded ballot, including the option to vote for no one, is “a reality that exists in this race and is simply beyond anyone’s control.” He said the campaign will continue to draw contrasts between Reid and what he called Angle’s “extreme agenda.”