Ballots Hit Mail Monday to Disenfranchised Voters in Ward 2 Election Snafu

Some 40 Fernley residents who voted in the November election will be receiving ballots in the mail in the next few days as the city moves to correct a problem that surfaced after polls closed. The problem came to light when a number of voters along Winnie's Lane reported that they were directed to vote in Ward 5, when in fact they were registered to vote in Ward 2.
Following the primary in August, the contest for the Ward 2 City Council seat boiled down to the two Donalds, Parsons and Howard. In the end, Parsons edged Howard in a narrow three-vote victory.
That win for Parsons may or may not be sustained depending on the outcome of the city's initiative to correct the county's coding error that occurred because of a glitch in the county's system, which did not update a particular neighborhood. After the November general election Lyon County Clerk/Treasurer Nikki Bryan said that some 47 voters along Winnie's Lane were incorrectly coded as being in Ward 5, instead of Ward 2 as they should have been. Of those 47, there were 40 who actually cast ballots at the polls.
This move by the city is designed to take the matter out of the hands of the courts, which intervened just hours before Parsons was set to be sworn in on January 7. Third Judicial District Judge David Huff issued a temporary restraining order prohibiting the swearing in of the presumptive winner in Ward 2 based on a request from Secretary of State Ross Miller.
Ultimately Miller's office has the responsibility for overseeing all elections in the state, and he decided to intervene seeking an emergency injunction. Judge Huff issued the temporary restraining order just before noon on the day city council members were scheduled to be sworn into office. There's a hearing set for January 26--the same day ballots are scheduled to go out in the mail to voters--on the emergency request for a writ of mandamus.
During a special city council meeting earlier this month, City Attorney Jeff McGowan told the council that based on his conversations with the Nevada Secretary of State's office, the special election option would be sufficient for Miller to drop court action. However, it remains at Judge Huff's discretion whether or not to heed any request from the Secretary of State to drop further court review of the election. There is also the potential for a court challenge coming from Parsons.
Once those 40 voters receive the ballots in the mail this week, they must then take the form to city hall where officials will verify their identities and the ballots may then be cast. City Clerk Lena Shumway said ballots must be in by the close of business on Tuesday, February 3. Whoever comes out on top will then be sworn in at the council meeting set for February 4.