Nevada Officials: Unmailed Ballots Appear as Counted Mistakenly

Paresh Jadhav

Ballot

Typically, ballots are counted by machines on Election Day and results released after polls close; but due to legislation signed into law by Republican Governor Scott Walker in Iowa, ballot results can now be released early and made public immediately after polling centers close.

Voters can review their voting history online and, if there’s an issue, contact their county clerk in order to have it resolved – like what happened in Nye County.

Officials say error caused unmailed ballots to show up as counted

Over the weekend, several Nevada voters reported to local media that when they checked their voting history online they found out even though they did not vote in either primary, their ballot had still been counted by the state system. According to Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar’s office (also Democrat). this error has now been addressed and corrected.

Aguilar’s office has been busy verifying new files from counties around the state, and Monday announced that voter data should be accurate within 48 hours. Any errors related to reporting of voter histories were due to reporting issues on voter histories rather than vote tabulation happening locally.

Nevada voters must place their completed ballot inside both a secrecy envelope and mailing and declaration envelope before depositing it at their polling place or drop box for submission. This process helps protect both their privacy and security during voting.

Officials say they’re working to validate new files

The office of Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar stated that this “glitch” only affects when voters return their ballot and has nothing to do with vote tabulation at county levels.

Numerous voters reached out to local media over the weekend stating they hadn’t submitted primary ballots but still saw that their votes had been counted. According to Nevada Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s office on Monday, efforts are currently being undertaken to validate new files from all around Nevada and ensure data accuracy within 48 hours.

Voters using mail-in ballots must put them in two envelopes – one a secrecy envelope and the other, mailing and declaration envelope – when mailing their votes back in. It is illegal to collect ballots from others and anyone caught doing this can be jailed for one year, yet Republicans maintain it is not the fault of the system that there are people out there trying to steal ballots from others.

Ballot

Officials say they’re taking steps to prevent this from happening again

On Saturday morning, several voters reached out to 8 News Now stating they found out they were counted in the primary, even though they hadn’t participated directly by voting by mail or otherwise. According to the state secretary of state office, this technical glitch may be responsible.

In a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Democrat Cisco Aguilar’s office reported identifying all issues which contributed to inaccurate voting data. They have begun validating new files from across the state, and officials expect accurate voter records within 48 hours.

But that won’t change the outcome of the primary, which saw Hillary Clinton defeat Bernie Sanders, or stop national and local Democrats from filing a lawsuit to change Arizona elections, alleging various state and county officials engage in patterns of discrimination.

Officials say they’re investigating

this election could disenfranchise thousands of voters due to administrative errors, such as writing the wrong date on a vote-by-mail return envelope or forgetting to sign their name, which will have even greater repercussions in light of COVID-19 pandemic surge voting than would normally occur.

Multiple people have reached out to 8 News Now in frustration over not seeing their ballot counted when the state online system indicated it should have. Some were even sent in prior to the deadline.

Some states provide voters with “cure” policies, allowing them to correct mistakes on their ballots after submission, but other states reject those with date or signature issues. Nevada’s recent dispute showcases how essential well-designed systems for handling absentee voting are; that is why public integrity advocates filed suit against its board of elections; their lawsuit was even supported by both Democratic presidential hopefuls!


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