"None of These Candidates" is a voting option in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

for all statewide and presidential and vice-presidential election ballots. This option is listed along with the names of individuals running for the position and is often described as "

none of the above "None of the above" (NOTA), or none for short, also known as "against all" or a "scratch" vote, is a ballot option in some jurisdictions or organizations, designed to allow the voter to indicate disapproval of the candidates in a voting syste ...

". The option first appeared on the Nevada ballot in 1975. If the "None of These Candidates" option receives the most votes in an election, then the actual candidate who receives the most votes still wins the election. This has most notably happened on two occasions: in the 1976 Republican primary for

Nevada's At-large congressional district Nevada's at-large congressional district was created when Nevada was granted statehood in 1864, encompassing the entire state. It existed until 1983, when it eliminated as a result of the redistricting cycle after the 1980 Census and subsequent r ...

, None of These Candidates received 16,097 votes, while

Walden Earhart "None of These Candidates" is a voting option in Nevada for all statewide and presidential and vice-presidential election ballots. This option is listed along with the names of individuals running for the position and is often described as "none ...

won 9,831 votes, followed by Dart Anthony with 8,097 votes. Even though he received fewer votes than "None of These Candidates", Earhart received the Republican nomination. He went on to lose to incumbent Democratic Congressman

Jim Santini James David Santini (August 13, 1937 – September 22, 2015) was an American attorney, politician and lobbyist who served as the U.S. representative for Nevada's at-large congressional district from 1975 to 1983. He was a member of the Democ ...

in the general election. In the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary, "None of These Candidates" won 30% of the popular vote, a plurality. Robert Goodman, the runner-up with 25% of the vote, was the Democratic nominee by state law.

Notable impact on elections

According to a report by then- Secretary of State

Dean Heller Dean Arthur Heller (born May 10, 1960) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator for Nevada from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 15th secretary of state of Nevada from 1995 ...

, "None of These Candidates" has finished first on three other occasions: in a 1978 Republican congressional primary, a 1978 Republican Secretary of State primary and a 1986 Democratic Treasurer primary. Additionally, it happened again in the 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary making it a grand total of five instances. The "None of These Candidates" option has possibly played a

spoiler effect Vote splitting is an electoral effect in which the distribution of votes among multiple similar candidates reduces the chance of winning for any of the similar candidates, and increases the chance of winning for a dissimilar candidate. Vote spl ...

in close races, such as in the 1998 U.S. Senate election, in which Democratic incumbent Sen.

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...

defeated Republican challenger John Ensign by only 428 votes, while None of These Candidates drew 8,125 votes.

Court challenge

In June 2012, anticipating a close race in Nevada during the 2012 presidential elections, the

Republican National Committee The Republican National Committee (RNC) is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in ...

challenged the constitutionality of the option. Fearing that the option would siphon votes from the Republican nominee, the RNC claimed that the option is not constitutional because if "None of these Candidates" received the most votes, it would not win the election. The

Nevada Attorney General The Nevada Attorney General is the chief legal officer for the U.S. state of Nevada. The functions of the office are set forth in Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 228. The Attorney General represents the people of Nevada in civil and criminal m ...

, on behalf of the

Secretary of State of Nevada The Secretary of State of Nevada is a statewide elected office in the State of Nevada. The secretary of state post is common to many U.S. states. In Nevada, it is a constitutional office (i.e., it is mandated by the Constitution of Nevada). Th ...

, argued that the option is a protest vote intended to send a message and whose outcome is no different from not voting at all. On August 22, U.S. District Court Judge Robert Jones agreed with the plaintiffs and struck down the law allowing the option as unconstitutional. He refused to issue a

stay Stay may refer to: Places * Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US Law * Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment * Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...

pending the outcome of an appeal, meaning the ban on this option would be immediate. On September 4, the

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (in case citations, 9th Cir.) is the U.S. federal court of appeals that has appellate jurisdiction over the U.S. district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * District ...

issued an emergency stay against the district court's order. The emergency stay barred the implementation of Judge Jones's injunction until the Ninth Circuit could hear an appeal, allowing the "none of these candidates" option to remain on the ballot in the November 2012 elections. On July 10, 2013, the Court of Appeals threw out the lawsuit, preserving the "none of these candidates" option. One member of that panel, Judge Stephen Reinhardt, criticized Jones' handling of the case: "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 prints the ballots.... Such arrogance and assumption of power by one individual is not acceptable in our judicial system."

Results in statewide elections

U.S. Presidential elections results in Nevada

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

: 5,108 votes (2.53%) *

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – In ...

: 4,193 votes (1.69%) *

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

: 3,950 votes (1.38%) *

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

: 6,934 votes (1.98%) *

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engin ...

: 2,537 votes (0.50%) *

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone o ...

: 5,608 votes (1.21%) *

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

: 3,315 votes (0.54%) *

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight ...

: 3,668 votes (0.44%) *

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

: 6,267 votes (0.65%) *

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

: 5,770 votes (0.57%) *

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

: 28,863 votes (2.56%, a little more than the margin of victory which was 27,202 votes) *

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

: 14,079 votes (1.00%)

U.S. Senate elections

: 3,163 votes (1.28%) *

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

: 5,297 votes (2.20%, just under the margin of victory, which was 5,657 votes) *

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal en ...

: 9,472 votes (3.62%) *

: 7,242 votes (2.07%) *

: 13,154 votes (2.65%) *

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

: 12,626 votes (3.32%) *

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

: 8,125 votes (1.86%, almost 19 times the margin of victory, which was 428 votes) *

: 11,503 votes (1.92%) *

: 12,968 votes (1.60%) *

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

: 8,232 votes (1.41%) *

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

: 16,197 votes (2.25%) *

: 45,277 votes (4.54%, almost four times the margin of victory, which was 11,576 votes) *

: 42,257 votes (3.81%, about 57% higher than the margin of victory, which was 26,915 votes) *

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

: 15,303 votes (1.57%) *

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

: 12,441 votes (1.22%, about 57% higher than the margin of victory, which was 7,928 votes)

Gubernatorial elections

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicis ...

: 9,017 votes (2.81%) *

: 8,785 votes (2.31%) *

: 12,641 votes (2.92%) *

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

: 23,674 votes (4.70%) *

: 20,699 votes (3.56%) *

: 12,231 votes (1.71%) *

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...

: 15,751 votes (2.88%)Values given are for the general election. During the Democratic primary, the "None of These candidates" received more votes than any actual candidate. Since only actual candidates can win, Bob Goodman, the candidate with the most votes, won the primary and advanced to the general election. *

: 18,865 votes (1.94%) *

: 14,866 votes (1.46%, just under the margin of victory, which was 15,386)

Notes

References

{{Reflist

External links

2004 Election Results

Nevada Election Results
Nevada elections