State officials want Supreme Court to compel Washoe County to certify election results

Attorney General Aaron Ford and Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar are asking the state Supreme Court to require Washoe County officials to certify recount election results.

Ford and Aguilar said county commissioners’ 3-2 vote Tuesday to not certify the results of two local recounts in June primary races has the potential to “set a dangerous precedent” for elections in the state.

“When the Board of Commissioners failed to perform its duty to certify the authenticated results of the recount, it failed to meet the expectation of Nevada voters that the election results would reflect the votes of the majority,” Ford said in a joint statement Wednesday evening.

Ford filed the petition on behalf of the secretary of state’s office Wednesday night, asking the Supreme Court to compel the board to certify the results as required by state law.

Three Republican commissioners – Jeanne Herman, Mike Clark and Clara Andriola – voted against certifying the recount results for a county commissioner race and a school board race, which changed just one vote in each race.

The county said Wednesday that Andriola had requested a new vote on the certification of those results to be held during the board’s next meeting on July 16.

In the joint statement, Aguilar said commissioners had failed “to do their part” in the election process.

“This law is nonpartisan, and this response is about something far more serious than any political stance or office: the democratic process itself,” he said. “We remain committed to ensuring fairness in every electoral process in Nevada—from the time the first ballot is cast until all results are certified.”

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on X.