In a reversal, board in key Nevada swing county certifies election

In an abrupt reversal, a majority of commissioners in the Reno, Nevada area voted to certify the results of two local elections, one week after three Republicans on the five-member board blocked the certification.

Two of the Washoe County Commission members who voted against certification last week, Clara Andriola and Michael Clark, changed their votes, saying they learned that the law required a “yes” vote. The third, Commissioner Jeanne Herman, held her ground.

The vote is a test run for November, when the same commission will be responsible for certifying the results of the presidential, statewide and local races. Home to Reno, Washoe County is Nevada's second largest after Clark County around Las Vegas. The closely divided swing county may decide who wins elections in the battleground state.

Since 2020, local officials all over the country have attempted to block certification of election results they disagreed with, including in swing states like Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina. It’s less common for a majority of a board to vote against certifying a vote.

Vote came despite objections

The commissioners certified the election results despite hours of comments from members of the public who urged them not to, a common scene in a county that has become a hotbed of election skepticism since the 2020 election.

Clark, who also voted against certifying the presidential primary earlier this year, told USA TODAY he changed his vote based on advice he received from seven different lawyers he knew either personally or who worked for the county.

“It isn’t a vote,” Clark said. “I had to agree that whatever was turned in was what was turned in.” He said he felt pressured by the state, but still has concerns about how many people are on the county’s voter rolls, the reason he cited for rejecting the presidential primary results.

Andriola, the commission’s swing vote, had never voted “no” in a certification vote before. She did not respond to a request for comment, but said before the vote that she changed her vote based on updated legal advice. Last week, a county lawyer advised the members to vote their conscience.

Herman, who also voted against certifying two elections in 2022, said before the vote: “There are hills to climb on, and there are hills to die on, and this might be one of those.”

Secretary of State's lawsuit will continue

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, sued Washoe County after its original certification vote, asking the state’s supreme court to declare their certification responsibility mandatory. His office said he won’t drop the suit now that the commissioners have reversed course.

“Washoe County’s initial decision not to canvass the election results could have consequences in Nevada, and across the country, if this issue is not addressed appropriately,” Aguilar’s office said in a statement. They pointed to another county that will hold a special election “in a matter of weeks” with results that will need to be certified.

A similar case is unfolding in Fulton County, Georgia, where a member of the board of elections, Julie Adams, asked a court in May to declare her duties discretionary, not mandatory. She’s represented by the America First Policy Institute. The Fulton County Republican Party and the Democratic National Committee have both asked to intervene.

“The fact that the lawsuit has been brought now, well before Election Day, I think is important,” said Justin Levitt, a professor at Loyola Law School. “Because it should provide clarity well before Election Day, about the scope of the authority that officials have.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Nevada county reverses course, certifies election