RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – A viewer contacted KOLO 8 News Now Saturday night with concerns about voting machine integrity, claiming a friend noticed a selection change to a different candidate than the one originally chosen. KOLO 8 News Now took those concerns to the Washoe County Registrar’s Office to ask what’s happening.
George Guthrie with the Washoe County Registrar’s Office said the office has not had any machines showing signs of miscalibration, malfunction, or malice.
Guthrie said the voting machines are thoroughly tested before they are sent to their destinations.
He said people can sometimes have trouble with touch screens, particularly when rushing, or can accidentally change their selection while scrolling.
“We’re not just winging it here,” Guthrie said. “We work days, long hours, long nights, weekends to make sure your elections are secure and transparent.”
Guthrie said voters are responsible for ensuring their selections are correct before casting a ballot, and that voting machines provide opportunities to do so.
“Please, when you are making selections, review that choice,” Guthrie said. “Is that the choice you want? Think about it, double-check it, make sure it’s that contest that you’re thinking of, because there are a lot of contests on the ballot and sometimes it can be a lot to go through.”
Guthrie said voters can check their ballot at least three times during in-person voting before it is cast.
“So it’s all about verifying that choice is made,” Guthrie said. “You print out that ballot. You get to verify those choices yet again. If there’s a mistake on that ballot, if you printed out something you didn’t want on that ballot, you can tell a poll worker about it. That poll worker will get you set up again to allow you to print another ballot.”
Guthrie suggested that if voters run into problems, they should seek help from a poll worker.
Guthrie invites the public to observe the voting process in person or at the central counting place if they are skeptical about their election integrity.
“You know, observation is a very core portion of elections, whether it’s voting in person or at our central counting place,” Guthrie said. “Members of the public can come and observe the process. If they see anything wrong, the public is seeing it; the public is there to witness it. We often talk with our observers and explain what’s going on so that way they understand the process.”
Guthrie said the Registrar of Voters’ Office leads with transparency and takes election integrity seriously. He adds that anyone doubtful can visit washoecounty.gov/voters/observation, where they can watch a livestream of the process.
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