33% of Nevada's county election admin raise cause for concern
Our latest research on Nevada Election Administration finds there are strong protections in place to help safeguard the state’s elections.
We’re back with our latest Election Administration research, releasing our 2024 Nevada Counting and Certification report today.
As with our PA report released last month, in this new Nevada report, you’ll find information about:
Each process step in the post-vote period. This includes steps like tabulation, recounts, and contests, as well as the process for challenged ballots and legal protections for certification (and more).
The offices and officials who oversee the post-vote period, including the County Clerk and Board of County Commissioner.
A research library reviewing 91 public officials who oversee election administration in Nevada.
An analysis of potential vulnerabilities in Nevada’s election that can be exploited by bad actors.
For a summary of this report, please see our Key Findings one-pager.
We hope that in fulfilling our mission to shed light on the processes and personnel that govern the post-vote period, we are providing valuable resources to our partners to help protect the integrity of our elections.
We are always open to your feedback, questions, and requests. Please share those notes with info@informingdemocracy.org.
As a public resource, so please that a take a moment to share this report with colleagues or partners who might find these resources valuable:
If you're a reporter with questions about the upcoming elections in Nevada or want to schedule a briefing with your newsroom, please email Ryan Thomas at ryan@zpstrategies.com.
Highlights from the Nevada 2024 Vote Counting and Certification Report
Counting and Certification Timeline
Included in this report is a timeline cataloging the period for each counting and certification step. This includes:
Provisional Ballot Processing
Mail Ballot Processing
Early Vote
Audits
Provision Ballot Curing Deadline
Certification Deadlines
Canvass Deadlines
And more…
Note: We will do our best to keep this timeline up-to-date throughout the election period, but we recommend verifying all dates in this calendar with official sources.
Election Official Research Database
We conducted public record reviews of 91 public officials in Nevada, reviewing members of Nevada’s 17 County Boards of Commissioners and County Clerks to identify individuals with roles who could pose a threat to free and fair elections.
From our research, we found that there is evidence of widespread election skepticism and denial among officials, including some county boards with members who have amplified conspiracies while having the power to implement controversial plans like hand counting every ballot.
Of the 91 officials who were researched, we found 30 who raised cause for concern — 33% of officials. The statements or actions reviewed indicated election skepticism or denial, attempts to subvert election administration or undermine faith in the system, sharing election conspiracies, or other anti-democracy sentiments.
See our analysis of these findings. You can also view our complete Election Official Research Library.
Potential Vulnerabilities in Nevada
In looking at potential vulnerabilities in Nevada’s election processes, we have identified a few areas where, although in spirit the law is sound, the legal framework has created vulnerabilities where someone acting in bad faith could take advantage of opportunities to subvert or significantly delay post-election processes.
In the recent news about threats to not certify votes in Washoe County, it is encouraging that the Secretary of State and the Attorney General are aggressively pursuing legal remedies to bolster the systems around vulnerabilities, reaffirming what ministerial duties must be done without local discretion, and calling out anti-democracy efforts. While certification is non-discretionary in Nevada, five county commissioners have previously violated this duty and could do so again, despite legal advice to the contrary.
Counties also have discretion in the election process, which raises another potential vulnerability, with the freedom to make decisions around activities like hand counts, audits, as well as the use of paper ballots. We identified four counties that pose major concerns due to their willingness to subvert election administration, including
Washoe County
Nye County
Esmeralda County
Lyon County
Nevada also has a strong threat of election denialism, with seven officials in roles administering or certifying elections who have publicly denied or questioned the results of the 2020 election. In addition to election deniers serving as County Commissioners or Clerks, Nevada has an active election denial movement including failed Secretary of State candidates Jim Marchant and Robert Beadles. These and other election deniers have been platformed by County Commissioners to speak at meetings and have pushed for officials to take action, like hand-counting ballots, based on their conspiracy theories.
Read more about these potential vulnerabilities and others in our report.
As with past reports, we are using Notion to share this report in hopes that it provides an easy format to navigate and allows us to make ongoing updates as the election season unfolds. Visit this page for more information on how to use Notion.
We’re available for questions about this research and eager for your feedback. Don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thank you,
The Informing Democracy Team