RENO, Nevada – The commission that oversees Nevada’s second-most populous county approved its new elections director earlier this year in a split vote.
The three votes in favor came from two Democrats and a moderate Republican, Clara Andriola. The votes against came from two Republican commissioners who raised doubts about the elections or voted against certifying the results and who are supported by a broader movement within the county that promotes election conspiracy theories.
Now, that movement hopes to oust Andriola from the Washoe County Board of Commissioners in Tuesday’s Republican primary and create a majority on the board. This could have national implications because the commission has some important oversight of the election office for a swing county in one of the most important U.S. presidential and Senate battleground states.
Andriola, whose bipartisan votes on the commission earned her censure from the county Republican Party, said she was disheartened by the attacks from within her own party.
“I don’t think elections should be a partisan issue,” she said. “Unfortunately, it has become a very partisan issue.”
The president, Alexis Hill, said the attacks against the election office and its workers are baseless and harmful to democracy, as they undermine confidence in the elections and their outcome. But Hill, a Democrat, also said she is well aware of why the office is in the crosshairs of election conspiracy theorists and why they seek a majority on the commission.
“It’s a national issue; this is not just a Washoe County problem,” she said. “If you cast doubt on Washoe County about the election, it will have a ripple effect that will cast doubt on a possible decisive presidential election, a possible decisive Senate election. It’s very dangerous.”
The dynamics unfolding in the politically mixed region of northern Nevada, which includes Reno, are similar to dramas unfolding elsewhere, including in neighboring Arizona, another swing state where conspiracy theorists have targeted local councils and electoral offices in recent years.
Arizona’s July primary also features those who promoted false election claims and are running for the board of directors and election office in Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix. Employees were subjected to an endless stream of attacks and threats since Democrat Joe Biden narrowly defeated Republican Donald Trump in the state in the 2020 presidential election.
In Washoe County, a wealthy far-right activist, Robert Beadles, financially supported the two Republicans on the commission who voted against the elections director’s appointment in January. He is also behind the effort to recall Andriola, who was appointed and endorsed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. Because the commission district covers a Republican-leaning part of the county, the candidate who emerges from Tuesday’s primary will be the favorite to win the seat in November, which covers much of the neighboring city of Sparks, Reno, as well as areas nearby residential properties.
Beadles, who did not respond to requests for comment for this story, has been on a years-long quest to create a far-right majority on the commission that oversees government operations in the county of nearly 500,000 people.
His past efforts have included publicly airing rumors about the family lives of officials he opposes, filing unsuccessful lawsuits against expel county officials and roll back protections for election workers, and leading a local movement that encouraged authorities to avoid certifying election results and to reform the electoral department. He sometimes accused local authorities of treason for not doing what he wanted.
In this context, Washoe County commission meetings are regularly filled with heated rhetoric about “puppet masters” rigging elections, false accusations of stolen votes, and conspiracy theories about voting machines. The claims arise from the repeated lies promoted by Trumpwho plans to hold a rally Sunday in Las Vegas.
The county is in its third director election since 2022. The latest, appointed earlier this year, said she rarely leaves her home because of the constant public attacks.
Among Andriola’s main far-right opponents is Tracey Hilton-Thomas, vice chair of the Washoe County Republican Party. She previously ran for the county elections supervisor position.
She told CBS she does not believe the 2020 election results are legitimate. She partially walked back that claim during an interview with the Associated Press, saying she didn’t know enough to know for sure. Multiple assessments, recounts It is audits in states where Trump contested his 2020 defeat, including Nevadaaffirmed Biden’s victory, and there was no evidence of widespread fraud.
Hilton-Thomas also said she believes the Washoe County voter registration office routinely ignores state laws and wastes money on voting machines and staff.
“(Someone) said if one of us were appointed other than Clara (Andriola), there would be a mass exodus of employees from the county,” Hilton-Thomas said during a campaign event moderated by Beadles. “My opinion on this is good. It just saves us from finishing them.”
The authority the county commission has over its elections department includes the appointment of the registrar of voters, certifying the vote count, identifying polling locations and providing ballots in Spanish in a county where the population is about one-quarter Latino. The state and courts provide a safeguard against any local manipulation of the elections.
Through his political action committee, Beadles endorsed former Sparks Fire Chief Mark Lawson for the commission seat. Lawson has maintained his innocence as he faces four felony charges related to the possession and distribution of steroids and reached a $381,000 settlement for his dismissal from the fire department.
Lawson said he was skeptical of the 2020 election results and was noncommittal about whether he would remove the elections chief or certify the results of an election if he won the commission seat.
“The county as a whole, with an emphasis on the Elections Office, we need to get this right,” he said. “Whatever modifications need to be made, let’s make them and get this ship headed in the right direction.”
The recorder appointed earlier this year, Cari-Ann Burgess, said the county supports her department and that she interacts more with the district attorney and county manager than with the commissioners. But hostile rhetoric from commission meetings has made running Washoe’s elections department a challenge. She said she works hard to insulate her team from vitriol.
She still loves her job and sees her goal as simple – “to ensure that democracy presides”.
This story originally appeared on ABCNews.go.com read the full story
