LAS VEGAS (AP) - A Republican primary election for Clark County administrator that was decided by four votes last week should be redone because more than 40 voters inadvertently voted twice, according to county elections officials.
Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria said Monday evening that he can’t certify results showing Aaron Manfredi defeated Thomas Fougere because poll workers allowed voters to cast ballots twice at multiple polling places after the voters mistakenly believed their first attempted to vote had failed.
Poll workers did not follow proper procedures by allowing voters to cast ballots twice on June 12 primary election day and during a two-week early voting period, Gloria said.
There were 59,032 ballots cast in the race.
The county didn’t have details on why 43 voters believed their initial ballots were not successfully cast, Clark County spokesman Dan Kulin said. The county’s new touch-screen voting machines are not to blame, officials said.
Gloria said he’ll ask county commissioners this week to set a July 17 special election that would cost about $135,000. They will vote on the proposal Wednesday.
To redo the election, every Republican who voted in the primary would get a mail ballot by July 3 and be required to return them by 7 p.m. on July 17.
Training for poll workers will also be changed, he said.
Manfredi told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in a text message that redoing the election would be “un-American.”
“Expecting tens of thousands of people to be prepared and knowledgeable of an impromptu election with new voting rules is beyond reprehensible,” he said. He questioned whether it was legal.
Fougere said he was excited for another chance at the office but questioned how many voters would participate in a second special election.
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