WINNEMUCCA — The Primary Election for Humboldt County has officially wrapped up and at the County Commission Special Meeting on June 24, the Board was updated by Humboldt County Clerk Tami Rae Spero and Humboldt County Deputy Clerk Jessica Koepke on the final canvass of the election. Officials unanimously approved the motion to accept the canvass, with Commissioner Jim French absent and the rest of the board present. The election turned out 4,298 votes — or 45.37 percent — of 9,473 total registered voters, according to the official Election Summary Report, presented by Spero and Kopeke.
Mail-in voting was the most popular form of voting during the Primary, especially with the new drop box at the courthouse, according to Spero.
“The drop box was very popular. There were a lot of ballots that came in through it,” said Spero.
Koepke added that the box was emptied twice per day in dual-control—as a single person is never allowed to be alone with ballots per Nevada Revised Statute 293— and the box was locked at 7 p.m. on the dot on June 14 when voting ended.
According to Spero, mail-in votes are those that were essentially done on paper, which means that they were mailed through the postal service, dropped in the new Ballot Drop Box that was installed at the courthouse, or dropped off in person.
The Clerk’s Office had to discard around 40 mail-in ballots that did not have signatures or that did not match signature records. Approximately 15 of the ballots also had to be discarded because they were considered late, confirmed Koepke. Ballots had to have been postmarked by the 14 or un-postmarked and received by June 18 to be counted, according to Spero. The clerk’s office recommends making sure to sign ballots before submitting them and to physically go into the post office and ask for ballots to be postmarked for the correct date. She also recommended sending them early, because the mail from Humboldt County goes all the way to Reno before it circles back to local boxes.
Final results for election day votes, early votes and mail-in votes are:
Nonpartisan
• Registered Voters: 2,933
• Total Votes Cast: 679 (23.15 percent of registered voters)
• Votes Cast on Election Day: 171
• Early Votes: 99
• Mail in votes: 409
Democratic
• Registered Voters: 1,320
• Total Votes Cast: 630 (47.73 percent of registered voters)
• Votes Cast on Election Day: 107
• Early Votes: 93
• Mail in votes: 430
Republican
• Registered Voters: 5,230
• Total Votes Cast: 2,989 ( 57.15 percent of registered voters)
• Votes Cast on Election Day: 907
• Early Votes: 819
• Mail in votes: 1,263
Spero also explained to Commissioners the processes that take place before election days, which require extensive testing to be done on all machines and equipment that will be used in the election. The processes include Pre-Logic and Accuracy Testing to ensure that machines and equipment are tested prior to elections, by a bipartisan board that verifies the machine’s ability to properly display ballots, collect votes, and tabulate results and then Voter Verifiable Print Out Certification to test the printers as well.
“The issues we experienced in this election primarily of two natures, ” explained Spero, and reported that the issues were pertaining to delays because of the age of voting kiosks, which is approximately six years. The machines were purchased in 2018 and are near the end of their lifespan, and will be replaced soon. The other issue, explained Spero, was with a breakdown in the installation of the machines with pole workers. Machines were sent to Paradise Valley without the proper batteries that must be charged so the machines can operate in the event that there is a loss of power. An anomaly occurred where two printers printed at the same exact time and shorted out a fuse at the Paradise Community Hall. The issue did cause delays, but was resolved and the votes were then hand counted and put through another thorough verification process, through which it was established that there was 100% accuracy in the comparison.
Spero and Koepke both explained that the voter turnout was about average this year, with just under half of registered voters participating in the primary.
“Given what we in Humboldt County have experienced in the last few years in the Primary, and our intensified knowledge of what the Primary can and can’t do, I did expect the turnout to be higher,” said Spero.
Final local election results include:
County Clerk (Rep)
• Leanna Robertson: 902 votes
• Tami Rae Spero: 2,000 votes
• Total Votes: 2,902 votes
County Commissioner , Seat C (Rep)
• Ron Cerri: 1,689 votes
• Drew Junkins: 920 votes
• Scott McColgan: 259 votes
• Total Votes: 2,868
County Commissioner, Seat E (Rep)
• Mark Evatz: 932 votes
• Lyndsee Jimenez: 880 votes
• Lorne Lyon: 172 votes
• Michael Owens: 491 votes
• Kris Stewart: 424 votes
• Total Votes:2,899
District Attorney (Dem)
• Illyssa Fogle: 188 votes
• Massey Mayo-Case: 411 votes
• Total Votes:599
County Recorder (Rep)
• Bailey Burhans: 1,365 votes
• Tia LAnge: 1,494 votes
• Total Votes: 2,859
Sheriff
• Angel Cardenas: 2,437 votes
• Victor Castaneda: 454 votes
• Andy Rorex: 1,368 votes
• Total Votes: 4,259
Hospital Board Trustee, Seat E
• Michelle Miller: 3,573 votes
• Total Votes: 3,573
School Board Trustee, Seat A
• Sabrina Uhlmann: 3,556 votes
• Total Votes: 3,556
School Board Trustee, Seat F
• Lonnie Hammargren: 3,580 votes
• Total Votes: 3,580
School Board Trustee, Seat G
• Nicole Bengochea:3,663 votes
• Total Votes: 3,663
Visit humboldtcounty.gov for more election results.