Dozens decry certifying Nevada primary
RENO, Nev. — Dozens of residents urged commissioners in Nevada’s two largest counties on Friday not to certify results of the June 14 primary, some expressing doubt about the election by recounting their personal experiences and others repeating many false claims and conspiracy theories.
County commissioners across Nevada were holding public meetings ahead of a midnight deadline to sign off on the results — historically, a routine and ministerial task that follows checks by local election officials to ensure the accuracy and validity of the vote. By the afternoon, 16 Nevada counties — including Reno’s Washoe County and Las Vegas’ Clark County — had voted to certify.
Commissioners in Esmeralda County spent the afternoon hand-counting all 317 ballots that were cast, after residents raised concerns at their certification meeting that began Thursday. They expected to finish before the deadline.
In Reno, commissioners heard from several residents who complained of receiving multiple ballots in their name or for people no longer living at their address, arguing this was proof of fraud and the election was corrupt.
But there are multiple checks built into the system, including signature verification and ballot tracking to ensure that one person can only cast one ballot that is counted. Election officials said Friday they do not count more than one ballot.
In Clark County, voters complained about a lack of transparency when ballots were tallied and problems with the state’s voter rolls, including some who said their party affiliations were changed. Others talked about being directed to specific voting machines if they were registered as Republicans.
County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria reported more than half of the 288,683 ballots cast were by mail and only a fraction of 1% involved discrepancies that ranged from voters going to the wrong precinct to people changing their party affiliation after submitting a mail ballot. People promised court action to challenge the election.
Commissioners in Nye County expressed what Chairman Frank Carbone called “a little bit of concern about the process” but approved the results on a 4-1 vote.
County Clerk Sam Merlino said that 12,450 ballots were cast in the predominantly Republican area where the board voted in April to quit using Dominion voting systems.
Supporters and allies of former President Donald Trump repeat claims without evidence that the presidency was stolen from Trump.
At one point during the Washoe County debate, one man wore a “Biden is NOT my president” cap while he urged commissioners not to certify. Nearly two hours after the meeting began, Washoe County commissioners voted 4-1 to certify results.
The delay in Nevada’s Esmeralda County — where Trump won 82% of the vote in 2020 — occurred amid distrust by voters fueled by unfounded voting machine conspiracies that have spread in the U.S. over the past two years. It drew intense attention to tiny Goldfield.
Esmeralda County Clerk-Treasurer LaCinda Elgan, in a telephone interview, called the primary “absolutely safe and fair.” One vote cast on one ballot was unintelligible, she told The Associated Press, but all ballots were tallied and reported. None was rejected.
Esmeralda County’s commissioners voted in April to join commissioners in neighboring Nye County calling for elections to be conducted entirely by hand, including the counting of ballots.
Election experts say hand-counting of ballots is not only less accurate but extremely labor-intensive, potentially delaying results by weeks if not months in larger counties.