Been asked to sign—or ignore—a recall petition lately? Asking yourself: Aren’t we done with the 2016 election already? Blame the Nevada Republican Party. Still stinging from the electoral thumping it took last year, it’s now attempting to oust three state Senators—Democrats Joyce Woodhouse and Nicole Cannizzaro and independent Patricia Farley—by soliciting signatures to initiate a new election with the hopes of regaining control of the Senate.
Problems abound over this development, chief of which being the GOP has given zero reasons for launching it. Recalls serve as checks and balances against the worst abusers of power. With no controversies or community uproar to justify an extra, taxpayer-funded election, Las Vegas voters asked to sign a clipboard should first ponder whether we ought to further thwart the democratic process—or relive last year’s partisan warfare so soon.