Lack of approval puts county in ‘unchartered water’
Three Washoe County Commissioners voted Tuesday against certifying a recount of 2024’s primary election day ballots. Commissioners Mike Clark and Jeanne Herman, all Republicans, were joined by Commissioner Clara Andriola, who voted against accepting the canvassing after the ballots had been recounted at the behest of two candidates who challenged their losses.
The candidates, Paul White, running for school board, and Mark Lawson, running for the board of county commissioners, had their losses confirmed in the recount.
Democrats Alexis Hill and Mariluz Garcia voted to accept the recount. Clark said there were too many issues with the primary election, including pending lawsuits, a name left off a sample ballot and ballots sent to incorrect addresses. He and Herman previously voted against the canvass before the election results were challenged.
Assistant District Attorney Nate Edwards said that the board has a duty to canvass the vote, but he admitted individual commissioners did not have to vote for any particular motion.
“It’s a little bit of uncharted water in that situation,” he told the board. But “the board has a duty to canvass.” The Nevada Secretary of State needs the board’s approval to certify the election. If the SOS did not act on the county’s lack of canvass, a candidate could sue to get the election certified.
Edwards further said that commissioners also running for reelection are allowed to approve the canvassing of the vote.
After Edwards’s statements, Commissioner Clara Andriola said she would vote with her conscience, which was to vote against the canvass. Like Clark, she said there are too many problems that need “time and attention” to rebuild community trust.
“Please put your energy at the legislature,” she said, stating that allegations must be investigated. “It creates doubt.”
Legislature candidate Drew Ribar, who sued the county after his name was left off of sample ballots, yelled at the commissioners and swore at them. That prompted Commission Chair Alexis Hill to stop the meeting. After a break, Ribar continued this public comment after Hill told him not to swear and attack the commissioners.
Several election deniers and conspiracy theorists—the vocal minority that has been dominating public comment periods at commission, school board and library board meetings for years—encouraged the commissioners not to accept the canvass.
Once the canvass was voted down, members of the group applauded.
County spokesperson Bethany Drysdale said, “We will defer to the Secretary of State and the District Attorney’s Office to determine what happens next.”
The Nevada Attorney General’s Office refused to provide comment or information for this story. The Secretary of State’s Office did not respond to This Is Reno.
