More questions about Carson City ballots: sample ballots, non-existent drop-off locations and more
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Thu, 10/10/2024 - 11:24am
Press releases from the city and state have been issued regarding the recent issue on the Carson City official ballots, which mistakenly listed a member of the IAP as a Democrat.
However, Carson City voters have continued to ask: Where are the sample ballots?
While new official mail-in ballots will be sent out, there is no word on when the sample ballots will be arriving.
Some people may be under the impression that ballots come from the Secretary of State’s office, but this is not the case. All ballots, sample and official, must come through each County Clerk’s office before they are distributed to voters.
According to County Clerk-Recorder Scott Hoen, who answered questions via email through Carson City Public Information Officer Cameron Gresh, sample ballots are printed by Nevada State Printing after they are sent off by the Clerk-Recorder department. Hoen did not mention what date sample ballots were sent to the printers, which is located in Carson City.
Hoen said there was a “period of time” they had to wait for the Secretary of State to confirm whether candidates were on or off the ballot.
“RFK Jr. was one that was on the ballot and then we had to take him off,” Hoen said. “Jill Stein was on the ballot, and then we had to take her off. Douglas County put out their sample ballot with Stein on the ballot that had to be fixed. We waited to make sure the candidates listed were correct.”
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Sept. 20, 2024 that Stein could not appear on Nevadan’s ballot due to a Secretary of State blunder.
“Bottom line is that we waited to the last minute to put out the sample ballot to ensure the correct candidates were listed,” Hoen said.
The arrival of the mail ballot before the sample ballot was a “timing issue” as mail official ballots were shipped from Washington state through Reno, Hoen said, which allowed the mail ballots to arrive prior to the sample ballots.
However, Hoen did not immediately provide a date on when sample ballots would be arriving.
When asked how an error could have been made, Hoen said that “staff in the Clerk-Recorder’s office work on proofing the ballots."
“Ultimately, a mistake was made, and the Clerk-Recorder takes full responsibility and apologizes for the error,” Hoen said. “It was an error that no one caught before materials were sent to the printer. Additional processes are being set up to correct the situation and prevent errors in the future. In-person voting is not affected by this, and we expect a big turnout with early voting and election day.”
When pressed on whether that meant Hoen himself does not proofread the ballots, Hoen said that is not the case. Both he and staff members proofread the ballots prior to them being sent to the printers.
When asked about the process of how ballots are created, Hoen said that due to the ongoing election, they couldn’t provide information on how ballots are created, but could do so after the election is over.
Another issue voters have pointed out is that two new ballot-drop locations listed on the “secrecy sleeve” provided with the mail-in ballots do not appear to exist.
There are four locations listed: The Carson City Community Center, City Hall, Stewart Wellness Center, and Carson Elder Center.
However, Stewart Wellness Center and Carson Elder Center do not appear to exist.
In addition, early voting and election day locations are listed in the sample ballot as “Carson Colony” and “Stewart Colony.” While “Carson Colony” is reported to be open during early voting, “Stewart Colony” is not available. Election Day hours also differentiate, stating that voting in “Carson Colony” runs from 7 a.m. to noon, while “Stewart Colony” runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
However, there is no Stewart Colony; there is the Carson Colony, which is a census designated area west of 395 in South Carson, and there is the Stewart Community, which is situated around the Stewart Indian School Museum and Cultural Center.
In addition, in the sample ballot while the other locations are listed as buildings (Community Center, City Hall, etc.), there is no building listed within the Carson Colony or Stewart Community.
Since there are no addresses listed for any of the polling locations, this could cause significant issues for residents of the reservations attempting to locate their polling locations.
We will update with these answers when they are available.
