District Court Judge Jim Shirley has ordered the removal of Wendy Nelsen from the ballot in her challenge of Shayla Hudson in the race for County Commission Seat A. Nelsen filed for the commission seat on March 11, 2024, using 1550 Cornell Avenue as her residence address.
Nelsen’s residency in Pershing County, a requirement to run for office here, was challenged on March 25 by Shayla Hudson and Kristy Berge. The challenges allege that Nelsen was not eligible to be a Pershing County candidate because she was not a resident of Pershing County for at least 30 days immediately preceding the close of filing.
The challenge asserts that Nelsen’s legal residence is in Fallon, Nevada, and the Cornell Avenue address is where Nelsen stays while managing her businesses in Lovelock.
Nelsen owns two businesses in Lovelock, Candy Beach Company and Wizard’s Flowers Magic, which are on record with the Nevada Secretary of State showing Nelsen as the manager and registered agent, and designating her Fallon address.
The question of Nelsen’s residency revolved around “actual residence,” the place of permanent habitation where a person is legally domiciled, as opposed to “constructively” where a person temporarily stays for various reasons.
Although Nelsen lists the Cornell Avenue address in her declaration of candidacy, and her Nevada Voter Registration form designates the Cornell Avenue address, according to court documents in the case, Nelsen and her husband have owned the Fallon house since 2008 and have several of their vehicles registered at that address. Additionally, the residence on her Nevada Driver’s license used the Fallon address, as well as legal documents, bills, IRS documents, and the address with her employer are all listed as the Fallon address.
The order by Judge Shirley stated that Nelsen indicated that she has resided in Pershing County since 2021, however, “Respondent took no steps other than her voter registration, to make Pershing County her legal domicile.”
Nevada Revised Statute 281.050 (c) sets out the evidence of a person’s legal domicile as the place where the person lives the majority of the time and the length of time the person has lived in that place, and in further sections, the place where the person lives with the person’s spouse, where vehicles are registered, where bills are sent, where legal documents for businesses are registered, where tax documents are recorded, the address for paychecks, the address for bank statements, and where a person receives their mail.
Shirley’s order also defined “domicile” referencing Black’s Law Dictionary saying, “A person may have more than one residence, but only one domicile…it is his legal residence, as distinguished from his temporary place of abode,” and asserts that Nelsen failed to change her legal domicile to Pershing County.
With the removal of Nelsen, Hudson now faces Chuck Sayles on June 11 as Nicole Reitz withdrew from the race on March 12.
Early voting begins May 25.
Comment
Comments