Lessons of an Interrupted Recount

A recap of our recent reporting plus bonus content.

Jul 05, 2024

While recounts in our June primaries ended with a whimper, giving way to a few court hearings asking for hand recounts and clearer indications on any late arriving mail ballots, as well as a few candidate lawsuits, the case of Lily Baran, who withdrew from her own recount before wanting to get back into it, (and by then it was too late) illustrates the need for several changes going forward.

Baran, pictured at a July 4th community art project, a progressive and relentless advocate for the unhoused, was just 15 votes behind in the race to the November Reno City Council Ward 1 runoff, but in Nevada there is no automatic recount. This situation has led to her argument and those of her supporters the Silver State should do legislative work to join two dozen other states and Washington D.C. where recounts are automatically triggered if results are within a certain margin.

Better and clearer candidate education should also be offered as Baran wasn’t sure anymore if having the extremely expensive over $50,000 recount paid for by right wing agitator Robert Beadles was illegal or not, and could lead to jail or fines, after a complaint filed by a former council member Paul McKenzie.

With heightened public scrutiny on elections, more official information for the community would also be welcome, such as what exactly is going on with curing and challenging disputed ballots, or late arriving ones, and what the process and timeline for that is looking like. Come November, our county’s election team should maybe also think of having a bigger and more forthright communications team.

Another point Baran has made is that there should be a polling center at the Cares Campus, and we agree that would be brilliant.

What better idea than to make our unhoused neighbors feel valued by showing to them we are facilitating their voting voice as they try to get stable shelter for themselves.

Many have asked for at least one unhoused neighbor to have a seat on the Community Homelessness Advisory Board, and it would also be an effective and nice gesture for the locally unhoused to be facilitated in their ability to vote.

Every vote sent in on time or cast correctly should be counted, and everyone in our community should be given the opportunity and ease of access to be able to vote.

We should be lifting barriers for grassroots candidates and the less fortunate in our communities wanting to participate in elections, so that our system stops favoring so explicitly the moneyed and the powerfully connected.