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County: ballots will go out the first week of October

Date:

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Washoe County today issued a statement about the local voting process after a local campaign consultant urged people to flood the county with complaints. 

The claim: ballots were meant to be sent today.

The Registrar of Voters, Deanna Spikula, said, yes, the county had wanted ballots to go out sooner. The county website says they were sent Sept. 14 but another document on the website indicates they will be sent Oct. 2. UPDATE: Spikula in a follow-up statement said the Sept. 14 was incorrect and the website has been update.

“We pushed our printer to meet an earlier deadline, but they are facing exceptionally high demand,” she said. “The stipulations outlined in AB4, passed in the Legislature’s Special Session in August, has required us to make some quick changes to our operations and information, but we are still on target to deliver ballots on schedule.”

Oct. 2 is the originally planned date for ballots to be sent, and voters should receive them soon after, she said. 

“Certain changes required by AB4 are only applicable to this election, so we are working diligently to maintain the necessary long-term information on our website while updating the language specific to November’s election,” Spikula said. 

This year, the county is offering a way for voters to track their mailed-in ballots by signing up for BallotTrax here: https://washoe.ballottrax.net/voter/

Voters may also drop off ballots or vote in person during early voting, Oct. 17-30, or on Nov. 3, election day. 

“There is a strict chain of custody to control ballot security and ensure that every ballot is accounted for every step of the way,” Spikula said.

The Washoe County Registrar of Voters office is open weekdays during normal business hours.  

Voting information

For more information on in-person early voting and on Election Day, visit https://www.washoecounty.us/voters/elections/Polling_Location.php

For more information on voting by mail, visit https://www.washoecounty.us/voters/vote-by-mail/index.php and https://www.washoecounty.us/voters/files/2020_General_Election_Absentee_Ballots__Mail_Ballots.pdf

To learn about facts vs. myths in the general election, the Secretary of State has provided information at https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/home/showdocument?id=8842

Bob Conrad
Bob Conradhttp://thisisreno.com
Bob Conrad is publisher, editor and co-founder of This Is Reno. He has served in communications positions for various state agencies and earned a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Nevada, Reno in 2011. He is also a part time instructor at UNR and sits on the boards of the Nevada Press Association and Nevada Open Government Coalition.

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