What happens when local officials refuse to certify elections? : NPR

Election workers sort ballots at the Registrar of Voters Office in Reno, Washoe County, Nevada last week.

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RENO, Nev. — More than two dozen local officials across the country have refused to certify federal elections in recent years and most remain in office, according to the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. This has raised concerns that some of them could do it again, sowing doubt about the results of the 2024 election and – potentially – chaos.

But many election experts say officials in swing states are prepared to block attempts to deny certification. To illustrate this, they cite a recent example in northern Nevada.

Washoe County is home to about half a million people and borders Lake Tahoe. The county seat of Reno calls itself “the biggest little city in the world” and is surrounded by snow-capped mountains this time of year. Back in July, Washoe County commissioners voted 3-2 against certifying recounts of two primary election results.

Reno is the seat of Washoe County, Nevada, home to about half a million people. No one here can remember that before this summer in Nevada, local officials refused to certify when county commissioners voted 3-2 against certifying the primary election results.

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No one here can recall local officials denying certification before in Nevada. According to the Nevada Secretary of State, certifying elections is merely a bureaucratic duty with no discretion over voting. Any concerns about the election results can be raised in court.

But several of the Washoe commissioners said they were concerned about the way the election was handled.

“I will not co-sign this,” Commissioner Mike Clark, a Republican, said during a public meeting at the time. “I won’t say how great it was because I don’t believe it.”

Citizens, including many election deniers, also attended the meeting and claimed it was a conspiracy.

“Our elections were hijacked by someone or something,” Robert said Beadlesan election denier who has donated more than $800,000 to GOP candidates over the past two years. “You cannot confirm this recount.”

Despite concerns about the accuracy of Washoe's area codes, the tell found a difference of just two votes in the two races.

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said he was shocked the commissioners denied certification but was prepared. He told NPR that he filed legal documents in advance and then simply provided the details of the case. “I call it our 'Mad Libs,'” Aguilar said.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford filed a lawsuit against the three commissioners who voted against the certification. A week later, Clark and his colleague Clara Andriola changed their votes at a commissioners meeting to confirm her.

“I have been told that failure to vote to certify this election could result in criminal prosecution and loss of my office,” Clark said during the meeting. “Therefore, my vote today comes under extreme duress.”

During a recent interview at the Reno Elks Lodge, Clark told NPR he is not an election denier, but he has serious concerns about the way elections are handled in the county and about the high turnover in the voter office, including the recent removal of the Ms. Who ran it?

Washoe County Commissioner Mike Clark changed his vote to certify the primary election results, a week after the commission was sued by the Nevada attorney general. “I have been told that failure to vote to certify this election could result in criminal prosecution and loss of my office,” Clark said during a public meeting. “Therefore, my vote today comes under extreme duress.”

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A new centralized voter registration system in Nevada faces its first real test this election, and state officials have acknowledged the past problemssuch as assigning some voters to the wrong precincts and incorrectly labeling others as inactive.

Clark may have angered the attorney general's lawsuit, but Alexis Hill, chairwoman of the Washoe County Board of Commissioners, welcomed it. Hill is a Democrat who voted for certification.

“This is probably the only time I will be happy about the county commission being sued by the AG’s office,” Hill said. “It was embarrassing, but it was good. This had to happen because we have to abide by the rule of law and I feel like sometimes we fail to do that.”

Alexis Hill, chairwoman of the Washoe County Board of Commissioners, is a Democrat who voted to certify the election. She said the Nevada attorney general's lawsuit was “embarrassing but good.”

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Nikhel Sus, deputy general counsel at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, sees the Washoe case as an encouraging sign for the nation as voting in the 2024 election ends today. He said it shows attorneys general have the will and resources to ensure certification.

“This is something that voters should highlight because voter confidence should not be diminished,” Sus said. “This effort (to not certify) will not work. They haven’t worked in the past and they won’t work this time either.”

Nikhel Sus, deputy general counsel for the Washington-based watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, says efforts to block election certification “have not worked in the past and will not work this time.”

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Clark and Andriola have both said they will vote to certify this election in Washoe, meaning it should easily pass the commission. But that doesn't mean that everything should go smoothly here.

State Sen. Skip Daly, a Democrat who represents part of Washoe County, said he was sure people would challenge the results in court.

“Are there going to be some lawsuits that I think will ultimately be dismissed?” Daly said. “Absolutely!”

Hill, the Washoe County executive, is also concerned that there could be political violence on Election Day.

“The governor has placed the National Guard on standby to assist the local sheriff’s office,” she said.

And then there's the meeting where certification is voted on, Hill said. Given the public anger of the past – and depending on who wins – things could get ugly.