US 2024 election : Why is it taking so long to count Nevada’s election votes?
As of midnight Eastern time in the US, Nevada, a battleground state, was one of two states that had not officially begun counting votes.
The vote count in the 2024 US election has been faster than usual. Several states have already been called for one candidate or the other before midnight Eastern time. Except, as is often the case, in Nevada, one of the swing states and critical to the final outcome of the vote.
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Despite providing only six votes for the electoral college, Nevada is one of the battleground states due to its historical tendency to lean towards either color in the final stretch of the count.
In 2020, it was key for Joe Biden to certify his victory over Donald Trump, although he did so with less than 32,000 votes difference. For the same reason, because of its late counting that can fall to any side at the last moment, Nevada represents a final push for a candidate toward victory.
Now, as in the past, Nevada has delayed beginning its vote-counting process after the polls closed. After midnight Eastern Standard Time, it was one of two states along with Alaska, and the only one in the U.S. mainland, that had not yet counted its ballots. The map remained at zero, even two hours after the polls closed.
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The delay is attributed to a problem with the certification of ballots in Clark and Washoe counties. According to Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, many ballots from young voters bore signatures that did not match those on their IDs. The irregular ballots total more than 700.
“Young people do not have signatures today. That is the problem we have. When they register to vote through the automated system, they sign a digital pad that becomes their signature on their driver’s license,” Aguilar said.
The result in Nevada to take longer
According to AP, the final count in Nevada could take several days. In 2020, it concluded three days after the election. The results were not validated until November 24, almost three weeks after the election.
Before that, the Republican Party complained of “fraud” and reported that at least 3,000 ballots were found to be irregular, reason enough to push for the annulment of the elections in Nevada.
Multiple reports indicated that lines at polling stations were even longer after the polls closed, which also contributed to the projections not yet having started.