The Nevada Secretary of State's Office now says that a 'miscommunication in code' led to this month's voter history discrepancies that showed up after the Presidential Preference Primary.
The SOS says that miscommunication was "based on the state and counties interpreting the same data in different ways. These events highlight the importance of modernizing our election system, and educating voters on how elections are administered in Nevada."
"It is important to note that at no time were election results affected by this issue nor any voter Personally Identifiable Information (PII) compromised. The voter registration and election management systems are kept separate. Additionally, at no point was any county data inaccurate. Any claims to the contrary are false."
In response to numerous reports detailing discrepancies in Nevadans’ voting history in the VOTE.NV.gov portal, Secretary of State Francisco V. Aguilar issued the following statement:
“As Nevada’s chief officer of elections, I would like to apologize to voters for this weekend’s confusion. No voter should ever look at the Secretary of State’s website and see inaccurate information. This was a technical error that should not have happened, resulting from a patchwork, bottom-up voter registration system that has long needed to be replaced. I have made it a priority to modernize our system and bring the Voter Registration and Elections Management System (VREMS) online before the June 2024 primary election.
"Nevada has a long history of secure, fair, and accessible elections and I am proud to continue that work. I want to be clear that this issue had nothing to do with the tabulation of votes or results of any election. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in our state, now or ever. Voters should have absolute confidence in the entire election process.
I would like to thank the entire team at the Secretary of State’s office, as well as the county clerks, registrars, and other county staff members who responded to this issue with necessary urgency.”
Click below to read the report the office released-
FEBRUARY 19, 2024:
The Nevada Secretary of State's Office says they are confident that all issues related to erroneous vote history have been identified and that fixes are in progress.
This, according to a statement from the Secretary of State's Office on Monday evening.
The office has worked closely with the state's county clerks, registrars, and their IT staff, the statement says.
"On a nightly basis, each county uploads their voter registration data to the Secretary of State's database, which executes code to create the single statewide voter registration file that users see when they log into vote.nv.gov," said the statement. "The legacy systems used by a number of the counties require additional steps be taken to ensure that voters who did not return their ballot do not have vote history; some of those steps were not taken, which resulted in inaccurate data."
The Secretary of State's Office says they have been validating new files from each county and moving them into production as soon as the accuracy of the data is verified.
Some counties may not see updates until after the nightly file upload, but if counties have taken the appropriate steps all voter data should be accurate within 48 hours.
The Secretary of State's Office reiterated in their statement that the error is related to the code used when a voter is sent a mail-in ballot and does not return it. It has no connection at all to vote tabulation.
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The Nevada Secretary of State's Office is investigating 'possible technical issues' related to voter history for people who did not participate in the Presidential Preference Primary earlier this month.
On Monday, the Nevada Republican Party stated that it received reports from 'numerous' registered voters, who did not participate in the primary, that their mail-in ballot was received and counted by the state.
"The NVGOP is actively engaged in communication with the Secretary of State’s Office to conduct a thorough investigation into these alleged irregularities. It is imperative that the integrity of the electoral process is upheld and that every legitimate vote is accurately accounted for."
The Nevada Secretary of State's Office sent us this statement:
“On Sunday, February 18, the Secretary of State’s Office became aware of possible technical issues related to the vote history of individuals who did not participate in the Presidential Preference Primary. Elections and IT staff began working on the issue immediately, and met with County Clerks and Registrars this morning. We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible, and will provide further updates as we can.
"It is important to note that vote history is generated separately from election results. Results on SilverStateElection.NV.gov and county canvasses of the votes are unaffected and accurate.”
On Friday, the Washoe County Board of Commissioners voted 3-1 to certify, or canvass, the results - as required by law.
Washoe County has also acknowledged the possible issue on its Facebook page saying that it is "working with the Secretary of State to help identify why some unvoted ballots are marked as counted. This display issue does not change election results. Vote history is generated separately from election results."
The county also includes a link to voter registration lookup.
As we've reported, President Biden won the Democratic primary.
And "None of These Candidates" won the Republican primary with Nikki Haley coming in second.
Only 24% of eligible Republican and Democratic voters turned out for this election. This was a closed primary, in which only members of the two main parties could vote.
.@NVSOS is working diligently to resolve the issue with their website.
— Governor Joe Lombardo (@JosephMLombardo) February 19, 2024
As the article below highlights, the voter history glitch on the website does not impact vote tabulation, which happens at the county level.https://t.co/x2b3rQNshR
