New document contains provisions that are still impossible and potentially illegal

Washoe County Commissioner Jeanne Herman this week renewed her efforts to change how elections are run in Washoe County. According to Washoe County spokesperson Bethany Drysdale, her proposal is also impossible to implement and potentially illegal. The proposal has yet to be reviewed by Washoe County’s District Attorney or the Secretary of State’s office. 

During Tuesday’s Board of County Commissioners meeting, Herman said she wanted to get an item on the board’s agenda. She was vague in her comments, indicating that the issue was one she continued to hear about during public comment periods. She did not say what the problem was but had documents handed out to fellow commissioners during the meeting. 

This Is Reno requested the documents Herman circulated. They included a two-page draft “Clean Elections” resolution that Herman said she wrote, outlining four actions to “preserve the purity of elections.” The actions include using only paper ballots, hand-counting ballots in each precinct location, holding election results until counting is complete and making the counting process public and continuous until complete. 

The remaining 19 pages, which Herman said were “a more professional stab at it,” were labeled as a draft staff report outlining perceived problems within the county’s current election procedures and listing state laws that allegedly support the resolution. Herman did not respond to a request for comment on who assisted with preparing her document.

The resolution was pre-filled with a signature date of Dec. 19, indicating an expectation that it would be heard at the next board meeting.

Drysdale said that would not be happening. A meeting to review the Dec. 19 board agenda was held Wednesday, Dec. 13, and the proposed resolution had yet to be reviewed by staff or undergo a legal review. 

She added that it was abnormal for a commissioner to submit a draft staff report. County staff is responsible for researching and drafting staff reports included within agendas. Staff were not responsible for what Herman labeled a draft staff report. Much of the document had phrasing and arguments similar to those used by the far right, who believe the 2020 election was “stolen.”

Herman’s latest election resolution is a pared-down version of the one she got placed on a  Board of County Commissioners agenda in February 2022, and that pushed many of the election lies and far-right proposals determined to be illegal, racist or both. 

“Portions of the document appear to be in violation of state and federal laws, or would require state or federal action,” Washoe County officials said of that resolution. “Other items listed do not provide enough information for the county to be able to consider them, while others would require a deeper analysis of impact.”

Drysdale said portions of Herman’s new proposal didn’t make sense at first glance. For example, Herman proposed hand-counting ballots at precinct locations by employees who are residents of that district and are an equal representation of party affiliation. Drysdale said voting isn’t done by precinct anymore, noting that, with mail-in ballots and early voting, people don’t need to visit a location in their precinct. 

She added that counting at multiple locations throughout the community is less secure than in a central county office with security and employees who have undergone background checks, as it is done now.

Hand counting ballots is also unrealistic, she said. Nye County, which has just over 25,000 votes cast in the 2020 presidential election, struggled to get through a hand count of ballots, sending some elderly volunteers home after long hours processing ballots. In Washoe County, where more than 252,000 ballots were cast in November 2020, Drysdale said a hand count would take too long and cause the county to miss the counting deadline set by Nevada law.  

It is unclear whether Herman’s proposal will make it onto a future Board of County Commissioners agenda. Any board member can request an item be added to the agenda, but the board chair has discretion on what to include. The proposal would also need to be reviewed for its legality, and an official staff report would need to be researched and drafted to accompany the resolution. 

Review the proposal and “draft staff report”: https://www.slideshare.net/ThisisReno/washoe-county-commissioner-jeanne-herman-floats-new-resolution-to-overhaul-elections