Cegavske backs voter ID law for Nevada

State Sen. Barbara Cegavske, who is running for secretary of state, says she supports a voter ID law for Nevada, although she says the one proposed by Secretary of State Ross Miller was too costly.

She also says she opposes same-day voter registration and same-day voting, however, because such last-minute activity could put too much pressure on election workers and make it tough to prevent fraud.

“I do not want to burden the counties with something that’s not attainable or secure,” Cegavske said Wednesday in an interview with the Review-Journal editorial board.

On voter ID, Cegavske and many Republicans like her have long argued people should have to show identification before they vote. Democrats have long pushed for same-day voter registration.

Asked if she backed Miller’s proposal, which died in the 2013 Legislature, she said no because his plan would have required laptops at every polling site at too high a cost.

Miller’s plan involved adding photos to the poll books that election workers use to check in voters. If there’s no photo, one would be taken on site at no charge to the voter. The price tag: $800,000.

“I’m really glad he had a plan, but it was too expensive,” she said of Miller, a Democrat.

Cegavske has said most people already have some sort of personal ID.

On Wednesday, she noted there is a pool of money at the Department of Motor Vehicles that is used to replace homeless persons’ IDs when lost.

“We don’t want to suppress anybody,” she said.

Cegavske praised Miller for pushing online voter registration to make it easier for people to vote, and she said the system seems secure.

Cegavske, a longtime Las Vegan who has been in public office for 18 years, including in the Assembly and Senate, said she and her husband also ran convenience stores for 13 years.

She argued that a business background makes her more qualified for the job than her opponent Kate Marshall, the Democratic state treasurer.

If elected, Cegavske said she would like to allow county district attorneys to prosecute cases of fraud in the securities division that now are all led by lawyers in the attorney general’s office.

She also wants to crack down on fraudulent companies that register their businesses in Nevada.

“We want people to know we’re open for business, but we also want people to know that if you come here and do something to our citizens, you’ll pay for it,” Cegavske said.

Cegavske said that as secretary of state, she also would review all taxes, fees, regulations and licensing boards that might be outdated.

One such item could be a regulation Miller imposed despite opposition from Gov. Brian Sandoval and the Legislature that requires thousands of home-based businesses to pay a $200 annual fee.

Cegavske and others objected to Miller going around them and winning approval through a legislative panel outside the legislative session.

The regulation affects home-based businesses operating as limited liability companies and corporations that earn less than $27,000 annually. It does not apply to individuals operating businesses out of their homes.

Contact Laura Myers at lmyers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2919. Find her on Twitter: @lmyerslvrj.