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Registrar lays out 2026 election plan as commissioners approve county share for new state election system
Summary
Washoe County Registrar Andrew McDonald told commissioners the county has 326,638 active registered voters and outlined mail‑ballot processing changes, ASV use, and consolidation to ‘supercenters’ ahead of the 2026 general election. The board separately approved a two‑year interlocal with the Nevada Secretary of State to fund the statewide election management system, 3‑1.
Andrew McDonald, Washoe County’s registrar of voters, told the Board of County Commissioners on July 14 that the office is deep into preparations for the Nov. 2026 general election and that the county currently has 326,638 active registered voters.
McDonald outlined workload pressures tied to mail ballots — especially the tendency for large numbers of ballots to be dropped on election day — and described how the county plans to use automatic signature verification (ASV), ballot extraction machines and a smaller number of higher‑capacity ‘supercenters’ to handle the expected volume. "If we're expecting a 100% more turnout," he said, "it's possible that 25,000 ballots would be dropped on us on election day," creating significant processing bottlenecks.
McDonald said ASV automatically verified 19,432 signatures (about 31% of mail ballots) in the last election and that the office audited 22% of ASV matches — far more than the 1% required by statute. He recommended voters drop mail ballots earlier (three days before election day to avoid processing delays) and outlined plans to reallocate resources, add signature‑verification stations and use fewer but larger vote centers to improve throughput.
The presentation drew questions about ballot drop timing, ballot‑processing staffing and whether legislative changes could allow more flexible in‑center handling of mail ballots. McDonald said he is engaging with the Secretary of State’s office on changes for future cycles but that the county will remain within current legal requirements for 2026.
In related business, the board debated and then approved a two‑year interlocal agreement with the Nevada Secretary of State to participate in the statewide voter registration and election management system (the county’s share: $238,000 total, $119,000 per fiscal year). Penny Brock, a member of the public, said the earlier rollout of the new equipment caused voter confusion and described an episode in which an in‑person voter refused to have identifying information scanned into an e‑poll book. "Then you can't vote," she quoted an election worker as telling her during the prior election.
Vice Chair Garcia moved to approve the interlocal; after discussion the motion passed 3‑1. The approved agreement authorizes the county to contribute its share and directs staff to execute the contract.
