A local race in Nevada’s primary could have implications for national elections in a key swing state

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The commission that oversees Nevada’s second most populous county approved its new elections director earlier this year by a familiar split vote.

The three votes in favor came from two Democrats and a moderate Republican, Clara Andriola. The votes against came from two Republican commissioners who have raised doubts about elections or voted against certifying results and who are supported by a wider movement within the county that promotes election conspiracy theories.

Now that movement is hoping to unseat Andriola from the Washoe County Board of Commissioners in Tuesday’s Republican primary and create a majority on the board. That could have national implications because the commission has some important oversight of the elections office for a swing county in one of the nation’s most important presidential and U.S. Senate battleground states.

Andriola, whose bipartisan votes on the commission earned her a censure from the county GOP, said she is disheartened by the attacks from within her own party.

“I think elections should not be a partisan issue,” she said. “Unfortunately, it has turned into a very partisan issue.”

The chair, Alexis Hill, said the attacks against the elections office and its workers are unfounded and damaging to democracy by undermining trust in elections and their outcome. But Hill, a Democrat, also said she is well aware of why the office is in the crosshairs of election conspiracy theorists and why they are seeking a majority on the commission.

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