RENO, Nev. AP — Nevada’s Supreme Court has decided not to get involved in an election controversy despite requests from the state’s top election official and attorney general. This came after one county initially voted against certifying recount results from the June primary.
The Democratic officials wanted the court to confirm that counties do not have the legal authority to refuse to certify election results.
The court ruled that the issue was moot since the Washoe County Commission’s original 3-2 vote against certification was later reversed when they re-voted to certify the results the following week.
Although the court dismissed Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar and Attorney General Aaron Ford’s request to declare the commission’s actions illegal, the justices made it clear they have the power to make such a declaration if the issue arises again.
The court acknowledged that election certification is an important issue but said it wasn’t convinced it would happen again.
Election certification, once seen as a routine task, has become a point of contention since the 2020 election. Similar issues occurred in New Mexico during the midterms, where a rural county delayed certification until the state’s supreme court intervened.
Aguilar and Ford argued that Nevada law requires county commissions to certify election results, including recounts, by a specific date and that they have no discretion in the matter. They expressed concern that the certification issue could have implications in November’s general election, especially in Washoe County, which includes Reno and Sparks.
Both Aguilar and Ford expressed disappointment that the court did not provide more clarity on the law before the Nov. 5 election.
Two Republican Washoe County commissioners, Jeanne Herman and Mike Clark, have consistently voted against certifying results and are backed by a movement that promotes election conspiracy theories. Republican Clara Andriola initially joined them in voting against certification but later changed her vote after consulting with the county district attorney’s office.
Andriola explained, Our responsibility is to follow the law.