Bob Stupak - Campaign For Mayor of Las Vegas

Campaign For Mayor of Las Vegas

In 1987, Bob Stupak almost succeeded in being elected Mayor of Las Vegas. After defeating a dozen other candidates in the primary, Bob forced an incumbent city council member into a runoff general election contest. Following what many believed was a tampered vote count, Bob lost the election. The day after the election, the Las Vegas City Clerk apprised her boss the City Manager of her and her staff's concerns that the computer results were skewed and Bob had actually won the election. The Clerk was immediately terminated after serving as the Chief Elections Officer of the City of Las Vegas for over 17 years. Based on the Clerk's statements, Stupak paid $17,000 to have the punch card ballots recounted. During the weeks leading up to the recount, the Registrar of Voters purchased thousands of new ballots from the out of state printer and had them delivered to a county warehouse in East Las Vegas. Reporters staked out the warehouse and one evening photographed a dozen women enter the building at dusk and exit at dawn. Pizzas were delivered. Several days later, the recount took place and the punch card ballots exactly matched the final vote tally from the computer. Two days after the recount, thousands of ballots were illegally shredded then discarded in garbage bags on the loading dock of the Registrar's warehouse. Several bags were recovered by reporters and dozens of ballots taped back together. Those ballots bore the date of the 1987 municipal general election Stupak lost. The shredding violated state and federal laws that require all voted ballots be preserved for two years in the Registrar's vault. When the story made front page news, the Clark County District Attorney launched an investigation followed immediately by the resignation of the Registrar of Voters. After his cursory investigation, the DA found no probable cause to prosecute, so the case was closed. However, the ousted City Clerk sued the city for wrongful termination and won. During years of litigation in US Federal Court, the former Clerk and several of her Deputy Clerks testified about irregularities they observed during the 1987 mayoral vote tabulation. Their allegations were never proven.