Today, there are more registered voters in Washoe County than there have ever been, and the 2020 elections now mark the highest voter participation rate in the County’s history, 83 percent. There are 304,224 registered voters in Washoe County, and 252,563 votes were counted.
Today, the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners approved the Canvass of the Vote in the 2020 General Election, certifying that the election results are final.
Registrar of Voters Deanna Spikula gave a roundup of the election process and results. Mail-in ballots made up 52.35 percent of all votes cast, according to the Registrar. She noted that Nonpartisan voters played a bigger roll than ever.
The latest voter registration data shows Democrats makeup 35.2 percent of voters in Washoe County, Republicans 35.4 percent, and Nonpartisans 22.5 percent.
With same-day voter registration and a paper ballot sent to every registered voter in the County, the Registrar said this election presented countless challenges. Spikula said she was proud of her team for not only conducting secure and timely elections but also for enhancing and expanding the ability for citizens to vote.
As examples, Spikula noted that her office maintained 15 early voting sites from October 17 through October 30. There were 15 additional locations for early voting ballot drop off as well. The Registrar also highlighted a new vote tracking system, the availability of an electronic sample ballot, and the voter in-person wait times tool as steps forward in improving access to the polls.
At the request of chairman of the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners Bob Lucey, assistant Washoe County District Attorney David Watts-Vial certified the vote with the Registrar.
“Miss Spikula, has the Registrar had the opportunity to review the election results,” asked Watts-Vial via Zoom.
“Yes,” responded Spikula who was in the Washoe County Commission chambers.
“And were there any errors noted in those results,” asked Watt-Vial.
“No,” said Spikula.
“Were there any clerical errors discovered after the canvass of the results?”
“No.”
“Is there a need to make any changes to the vote?”
“No,” said the Registrar.
“Thank you very much. Mr. Chair, based on the answers provided by the Registrar, it is the DA’s legal opinion that information provided by the Registrar is sufficient for the Board to declare the results of the election,” Watts-Vial said.
With that, the Board voted to certify the results on a 4 to 1 vote. Commissioner Jeanne Herman voted no and has not responded to queries for comment.
