Washoe County in Nevada rejects recount results for 2 local primaries
Commissioners in Washoe County, Nevada’s second most populous county, made headlines on Tuesday when they refused to certify the results of local recounts from two June primaries. This unprecedented move could potentially impact the upcoming presidential race in one of the nation’s key battleground states.
The decision came from the three Republican members on the five-member Washoe County Board of Commissioners, who voted to reject the results of the recounts for a commission seat and a local school board seat. The future course of action following this rejection remains uncertain, as there has been no official statement from the county elections department, the district attorney’s office, or the state attorney general. A request for comment from the secretary of state also went unanswered.
With this refusal to certify the recounts, questions have emerged about the implications for the November election should a local commission choose to withhold certification of the presidential election results. Election certification, once considered a routine administrative process, has now become a focal point of contention since the 2020 elections.
Notably, a similar scenario unfolded in New Mexico during the midterm elections two years ago, where a rural county delayed certification of results until the state’s supreme court intervened. The recent events in Washoe County underscore the heightened tensions surrounding election procedures and outcomes.
The certification standoff in Washoe County is the latest in a series of election-related controversies that have plagued the region. Reno and its neighboring suburbs, known for their swing-voting tendencies, have witnessed a surge in conspiracy theories about voting machines and distrust of election administrators. This environment has led to harassment and significant turnover within the local election office over the past four years.
The commission meeting, held in downtown Reno, was marked by public comments from residents alleging irregularities in the election process. Calls for a manual recount of ballots, along with baseless claims of election theft and collusion within the county, were prevalent among attendees. Amidst these challenges, the county elections department has admitted to certain administrative errors, such as sending mail-in ballots to voters who had opted out and misprinting local sample ballots, though these errors did not impact the vote count.
Within the Washoe County Board of Commissioners, two Republican members, Jeanne Herman and Mike Clark, have consistently advocated against certifying election results. Supported by a faction within the county that propagates election-related conspiracy theories, they were joined by Republican Clara Andriola in rejecting the recount certification – a decision that directly impacted a primary race in which Andriola emerged victorious.
Andriola defended the rejection, citing concerns raised about the election process and the need for further investigation. Expressing appreciation for the county elections department, she emphasized the importance of seeking validation from other governing or judicial bodies, although the specific course of action remains unclear.
Opposing the rejection, the board’s two Democratic members upheld their support for certifying the recount results, which only altered one vote in each of the contested races. Notably, Andriola had voted in favor of certifying the results for other races from the same primary, highlighting the division within the commission.
The ongoing controversy in Washoe County serves as a microcosm of the broader challenges facing election processes and outcomes in the United States. As the county grapples with the aftermath of the recount rejection, the implications for future elections, including the highly anticipated presidential race, remain uncertain.
