Elko County Considers Hand Count For General Election Ballots

According to the Elko County Board of Commissioners meeting agenda, officials will consider hand counting ballots for November’s general election. The agenda item includes a guide to the hand count and processes for the fifth largest county in Nevada and in accordance with state law.

The agenda item for the August 7 meeting reads:

Discussion and consideration of a request from Coalition of Nevada Voters to submit a plan to the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office to utilize a hand count of ballots as the primary means for tabulating votes for the 2024 General Election. A plan is required to be submitted to the Secretary of State’s Office for approval no later than August 7, 2024 for the 2024 General Election.

Elko County Commissioner Jon Karr told The Globe: “Some citizens have asked about paper ballots and are concerned with electronic voting machines. This group, working with our clerk, did a small test run of counting paper ballots per Nevada law requirements. The experiment didn’t go well. It was pretty much a failure. This agenda item will highlight their effort. The commissioners will likely not switch counting methods or procedures for the upcoming general election.”

In 2022, Nye County conducted a hand count for the midterm general election due to concerns related to election integrity and the perceived manipulation of votes by electronic voting machines. The republican stronghold was unsuccessfully sued by PLAN Nevada as Judge Joe Wilson ruled that Nevada’s law does not prohibit the use of hand counting. Voting is permitted by a “mechanical voting system,” but it is optional, he wrote in his order.

Shortly after the midterm election, County Clerk Mark Kampf resigned, yet the Board of Commissioners still demand that all paper ballots be used in upcoming elections and only one voting machine per polling place is allowed.

The Esmeralda County Board of Commissioners is also considering a parallel hand count for the 2024 election.

Editor’s note: The original article referenced the an unsuccessful lawsuit by the ACLU. We have corrected the article.