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LAS VEGAS — The election certification meetings held on Friday in Nevada’s two largest counties were fraught with debates over voting conspiracies, contrasting sharply with the calm approval of election results in the state’s rural areas, which leaned in favor of President-elect Donald Trump.
This day marked the final deadline for counties in this pivotal state to verify their election outcomes. All 17 counties submitted their results in time for eventual validation by Democratic Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar and the Nevada Supreme Court later this month. Candidates who did not win have until November 20 to demand a recount.
Nevada initiated its certification process on Wednesday, with Trump emerging victorious, capturing all 15 rural counties. The officials in these areas unanimously endorsed his victory over Vice President Kamala Harris in meetings earlier this week, with many clerks receiving commendation for effectively managing the election process.
In stark contrast, the meetings in Clark County, home to Las Vegas, and Washoe County, which includes Reno, were reminiscent of the contentious certification period observed four years ago following Trump’s defeat by President Joe Biden.
In Washoe, deemed a swing county, officials voted 3-1 to certify the results after enduring over two hours of impassioned public commentary that featured unfounded accusations about unsecured ballots and potential hacking of voting machines. One speaker even warned that “President Trump will be coming for you” should the results be certified.
Commissioner Jeanne Herman, who cast the only dissenting vote during the session, provided no rationale for her stance. Her opposition to certifying election results dates back to 2020, when she attempted but failed to implement changes to return to paper ballots and manual vote counting after Trump’s loss that year.
Andrew McDonald, the deputy registrar of voters in Washoe County, reassured the commissioners that there were no administrative errors that warranted not certifying the elections.
“No voters were disenfranchised,” McDonald emphasized. “We conducted a fair, accurate, secure, and transparent election.”
Meanwhile, in Clark County, similar conspiratorial claims were being aired as commissioners deliberated over the certification. Ultimately, they voted unanimously to move forward with the approval of the election results.
The atmosphere at the Las Vegas meeting was charged, with attendees largely opposing the certification. Many individuals presented what they claimed to be evidence of election fraud, questioning how Trump and Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown could have lost in Clark County despite sweeping victories statewide.
Lorena Portillo, the top election official in Clark County, informed the commissioners that around 1,600 ballots had been inadvertently processed but not counted prior to Friday’s meeting. These ballots were subsequently counted and factored into the official results; however, Portillo noted that they did not alter the outcomes of any races.
The secretary of state’s office was promptly informed of this oversight, and Portillo mentioned that an audit would be conducted in collaboration with state election officials.
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abcnews.go.com