CARSON CITY, Nev. — The pace of vote-counting in Nevada is being criticized for taking too long and it's even become fodder for online jokes. But government officials say they are emphasizing accuracy over speed in a year when processing an unprecedented flood of mail-in ballots under extended deadlines is taking more time.
"We told everyone early on that results would take at least 10 days," Secretary of State spokeswoman Jennifer A. Russell said in an email.
THE GENESIS
The Legislature passed a bill in August to send all active voters mail-in ballots in hopes of curbing, or at least not fueling, the spread of the coronavirus. Those postmarked by Election Day can be counted if they arrive at election offices within seven days, which is Tuesday. And they continue to come in, though the number arriving each day is expected to dwindle.
"It's been a different year for us," said Deanna Spikula, registrar of voters in Washoe County, the state's second-largest county that includes Reno. "The volume is definitely something that we've never seen before in the state as far as receiving and processing mail-in ballots."
WHERE WE STAND
The Associated Press has not declared a winner in the state. More than 1.2 million ballots had been counted by Friday afternoon, with Joe Biden holding a 22,657-vote lead over President Donald Trump — an edge of about 1.8 points.
The Nevada Secretary of State's Office said Friday night that statewide about 124,500 ballots remained to be processed, with 90% of them in Clark County. Just under half of those were mail ballots and the rest were provisional ballots cast by people who registered or updated their registration at the polls.