Clara Andriola decided to join non certifying county commissioners to vote against approving two primary recounts yesterday, including one in her own race for the Republican nomination for District 4, a post she was selected to as a departure replacement by Governor Joe Lombardo.
The recounts which are mandated to be done in the same way as during the initial count each changed outcomes by just one vote. Efforts to force hand recounts are now being considered in our court system, and off to less than promising starts.
After dozens of heated commenters asked for new elections yesterday before county chambers, Andriola pointed to “concerns of alleged mishaps,” and “hiccups,” saying she believes the vote count “warrants further investigation.”
She gave no specifics. Fellow commissioner Mike Clark has repeatedly pointed to pending lawsuits, Assembly District 40 candidate Drew Ribar left off sample ballots and thousands of ballots sent to wrong addresses.
The county commission’s role has previously been viewed as largely ceremonial in approving election results, with the matter now going to the Nevada Secretary of State and Washoe County Assistant District Attorney Nate Edwards calling it “a little bit of uncharted water.”
Counties are required by law to canvas election results within five business days of the completion of a recount.
Andriola previously certified initial election results before right wing agitator Robert Beadles, who was one of the repeat speakers, paid for the recounts. A post on his Operation Sunlight website had a new post titled “We Won a Battle …”
Another recount was dropped by third place candidate Lily Baran in the Reno Ward 1 race over fears she might face jail or fines for accepting Beadles money to pay for it.
Not certifying results at the county level has been a recent strategy to undermine election results, with a Donald Trump-Joe Biden top of the ticket rematch set for November, with Washoe County as one of the few swing counties in the entire nation, and a Nevada election which could determine the Senate’s balance of power.
In looking at the results now in limbo, two hard charging opponents, Mark Lawson, who is seeking that race’s recount, and Tracey Hilton-Thomas, combined had more votes than Andriola in the Republican primary of District 4, meaning she faced headwinds and an onslaught of negative social media bashing.
Positioning herself as a swing vote on this matter could broaden her electoral base.
In the other recount, in the disputed District G School Board race, Paul White, got over 4,500 votes but was in fourth place and more than 2,000 votes behind Diane Nicolet to face off against Perry Rosenstein in November.