FACT BRIEF

Do all ballots have to be counted by hand in Nevada?

Friday, November 18, 2022

By Esther Tsvayg

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No county in Nevada currently uses hand counting as the sole or primary method to tabulate all votes.

During the primaries in Nevada, Esmeralda County, Nevada’s least populated county, waited until after a hand count of a smaller batch of 317 ballots to certify the results, while Lander County performed a hand count of fewer than 1,500 ballots cast across six races.

In most states, hand counts are only used after an election to ensure machine tallies are accurate. These hand counts were done in addition to normal mechanical tabulation processes in response to conspiracy-fueled doubts raised by voters about election integrity.

Commissioners in Nye County voted to run a hand count of its votes in the midterms, but vote tabulator machines will remain the primary recording mechanism.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

Nevada Independent How should Nevada hand count ballots? Nye County, state election officials disagree

AP News Nevada high court rejects plea to stop county’s hand-count

Nevada Independent State adopts regulation for hand counting ballots, but it won’t affect Nye County – The Nevada Independent

AP News Nevada officials begin unprecedented hand count of ballots

AP News Last Nevada county approves primary results after hand count

AP News Hand vote count on hold after Nevada high court says illegal

Democracy Docket Amid Legal Battles, Nevada and Arizona Counties Turn To Hand Counting

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