2 News Nevada is hearing from viewers who have received two mail-in ballots for Nevada’s Presidential Preference Primary. Washoe County says it’s not uncommon – voters who have recently updated their registration online or visited the DMV to change their personal details are sent a new updated ballot.
“Anytime that voter registration is updated after we’ve begun sending ballots, they’ll get a new ballot,” said county communications manager Bethany Drysdale. “So it’s very possible people have two ballots, but they can only vote one.”
Drysdale added that there is no risk of voters casting a ballot twice in the election.
“The old ballot is deactivated, so we can really only receive one good ballot, and everybody’s voter ID is unique to them, so it is impossible to send both ballots in and have them both counted,” she said.
The Registrar of Voters office says voters who have two ballots should cast the updated ballot and trash the old ballot. Though, it’s not a problem if voters confuse the two and accidentally submit the older ballot. The registrar’s office will re-activate the ballot and tabulate it.
However, under no circumstances should voters cast both ballots, the office told 2 News Nevada on Wednesday. If election workers find a duplicate vote, they will set aside the second ballot, and the office will have to file a report with the Secretary of State.
“Only one ballot can be processed per person, and as soon as somebody comes in and drops it off and it’s received, they also then cannot go out and vote in-person, so we can make sure that people aren’t able to double vote,” Drysdale said.
As for trashing the second ballot – the registrar’s office says voters can shred it or turn it in securely at the county complex or a voting center.
