Lawmakers’ OK to speed absentee ballot counts

Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2000 | 11:21 a.m.

Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said that without the early start it would be "logistically impossible" to give final results until about five days after elections.

Lomax and Secretary of State Dean Heller asked the Legislative Committee to Review Regulations on Tuesday to let counties open and prepare absentee ballots for counting beginning four days before the Sept. 5 primary and Nov. 7 general elections.

Current law allows county registrars to begin processing absentee ballots starting the day before the election.

Assemblyman Greg Brower, R-Reno, and Legislative Counsel Brenda Erdoes agreed that allowing registrars to start processing ballots early could be seen as a violation of the law.

"It's a serious problem," said Brower, chairman of the committee. "It does arguably violate the statute. But I'm not sure we should put form before substance."

Lomax said he expects 50,000 people will vote by absentee ballot in Clark County and that it will take his staff 1,300 hours to process and count their ballots.

His staff won't actually count ballots cast on voting machines until election day.

Heller said his office wasn't aware until a complaint was filed last year that registrars couldn't begin processing abstentee ballots four days before elections.

Heller added he prepared bills for the 2001 Legislature to clarify the law and ensure that absentee ballots can be processed early.