Washoe County Registrar Jamie Rodriguez Resigns

Washoe County Reigstrar of Voters Jamie Rodriguez resigned yesterday after serving in the position for approximately two years. Rodriguez served in the position prior to the 2022 election after former Registrar Deanna Spikula resigned after an extended leave of absence due to alleged harassment and threats. Despite Spikula’s claims, the Secretary of State found no credible evidence of her allegations in their investigation.

“Rodriguez stepped into a challenging role in 2022, applying her vast knowledge of election law and local government to Washoe County’s efforts to rebuild the registrar’s office,” the county said in a statement.

“She worked with county leadership to implement strategic changes to staffing, more than doubling the number of permanent employees in the office. We thank her for her dedication and passion that she poured into the role, and we support her desire to move on, leaving the office with a strong foundation of expertise.”

Rodriguez’s resignation comes after an extensive audit and in the midst of an overhaul of the County’s election department and systems.

As reported by The Globe,

An 80-page audit conducted by The Elections Group found that Washoe County’s election process was error prone and confusing and made recommendations to hire additional people, increase training and communications, and provide resources employee’s need to support and increase productivity.

Although the $100,000 audit was initially delayed due to a tied vote by the County Commissioners, Governor Joe Lombardo appointed Clara Andriola who sided with Chair Alexis Hill and Mariluz Garcia to approve the audit.

The audit found that Washoe County election processes were “error prone and confusing,” County Manager Eric Brown and Registrar of Voters Jamie Rodriguez gave a presentation to the commissioners and explained the need for a massive overhaul of the county’s election system. According to the RGJ, Brown remembers telling them, “We need to revamp it, take it down to the studs and start over.”

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar is also leading the charge to revamp Nevada’s election system through the implementation of the Voter Registration and Election Management Solution (VREMS).

The Nevada Secretary of State website describes the system’s goal as “putting in place a centralized statewide voter registration database and supporting the connection of election management systems located in counties throughout the state to that database for secure and accurate elections.”

This statewide election platform promises to improve speed and accuracy in maintaining voter rolls and to reduce manual administrative processes. Voter registration changes made at the Department of Motor Vehicles are expected to now go directly to the state.

Although the VREMS system will not be fully functional for the February 2024 presidential primary, the County anticipates that the new system will be initially operational by June 2024 and fully operational by 2025.

According to reports, Deputy Registrar Cari Ann Burgess will serve as interim registrar pending appointment by the County Commission during its Jan. 16 meeting.

Assistant County Manager Kate Thomas, who has served as Nevada Deputy Secretary of State, will support the registrar’s office during the transition.