For hundreds of Nevada voters and candidates, June’s primary election did not go as planned. Officials said then that a spate of well-publicized voting machine problems — including glitches that left some candidates off of ballots or displayed the wrong slate of ballot choices — only affected a small handful of voters. But a Reno Gazette Journal review of public records found more than 300 reported machine malfunctions across the state. More than 100 were recorded in Washoe County alone. Those software hiccups contributed to a double-voting snafu that forced officials to call a rare special election in Clark County. Records reveal they also saw Washoe threatened with at least one election-challenging lawsuit amid widespread reports of candidates being left off the ballot. Now, little more than two months ahead of the general election, elections officials have said in interviews with the RGJ they don’t know how many improperly displayed ballots might have gone unnoticed by voters and unreported to poll workers during the primary.
Several elections attorneys interviewed by the RGJ agreed such unidentified irregularities could have had an impact on June’s primary election results, especially in smaller, local races decided by a few dozen or a few hundred votes.
They might also have an impact on future elections, if officials don’t find a fix.
“There were various candidate’s names not on the ballot. That’s a huge problem,” said David O’Mara, a Reno-based elections attorney. “It’s also a colossal failure that people were improperly given the wrong voting cards and then allowed to vote twice. In essence, the failure to follow the proper procedures disenfranchised numerous voters.
Full Article: Nevada voting glitches higher than reported for 2018 primary.