TAX PETITION MAY BE SHORT ON SIGNATURES AS FIGHT CONTINUES

CARSON CITY -- The petition to repeal the $833.5 million tax increase
may be short of the required referendum signatures, even if it wins in
a case before the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Chief Deputy Attorney General Vickie Oldenburg told a District Court
hearing that the Axe the Tax referendum was 4,548 signatures short of
the required 51,337 to get the issue on the ballot.

Supporters of the referendum contend that the county clerks did not
count signatures of people who signed voter registration forms when
they signed the petition. And they say that will give them more than
51,337.

But Oldenburg told District Judge Bill Maddox that a preliminary count
shows the referendum would still be deficient. She said that Clark
County disqualified 2,745 and Washoe may have not counted 1,061.

She said a tabulation is being made of the rest of the counties to
determine the full number of signatures of people who signed up to
vote and signed the petition at the same time. The voter registration
forms in some cases were filed with the counties after the petition.

Maddox, after hearing oral arguments, withheld a ruling the lawsuit by
the Nevada Taxpayers Association. The lawsuit argues that the petition
is deficient because it does not meet the constitutional requirement
that the full 150-page text of the referendum was not included on the
petition.

He said he will wait to see the secretary of state's count. "I may not
have to rule on this," he said.

But Joel Hansen, attorney for Axe the Tax, said an appeal of the count
is being prepared to file with the secretary of state on the way the
ballots were counted.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court is being asked to decide whether those
voter registrations filed after the petition should be counted toward
qualification. This case involves the marijuana petition. But the same
issue applies on the tax referendum.