In fact, election officials in Clark (home to Las Vegas) and Washoe (home to Reno) counties, the state’s most populous counties, warned in advance that it would take days to process all the ballots again this year. Here’s where things stand late Friday, with control of Congress hanging in the balance: WHAT WE KNOW —With more than 90% of the vote counted, Republican former state attorney general Adam Laxalt narrowly leads Democratic incumbent Sen. Kathryn Cortez Masto by about a quarter of a percentage point in the Senate race. — Tens of thousands of ballots, mostly from the state’s urban areas, remain to be counted — again, as counting officials in Las Vegas and Reno had said. —All Nevada voters are issued mail-in ballots, but Saturday is the last day state law allows officials to accept them. —Voters have until the end of the day Monday to “cure” — or resolve problems with the offices — their mail-in ballots, allowing them to be added to the final tally. There were 9,600 ballots in the “cure” stage Friday in Clark County, home to three-quarters of the state’s population. —Nevada didn’t call in the 2020 presidential election until the Saturday after Election Day — the same day Pennsylvania (and thus the presidency) called for Joe Biden. WHAT IS NOT SAID — Senate race between Democrat incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto and Republican former state attorney general Adam Laxalt. Laxalt and Cortez Masto have been locked in a tight race for weeks, hitting hard at national partisan talking points: Laxalt blaming inflation and illegal immigration on Democratic policies and Cortez Masto vowing to block GOP attempts to ban abortion nationally and fight for a path to permanent citizenship for immigrants who came to the country as children. HOW IT WAS CALLED — A tight race for governor between Democratic incumbent Steve Sisolak and Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo went to the challenger, with The Associated Press calling it for Lombardo late Friday. The campaign has been expensive and controversial, with the airwaves and internet flooded in recent weeks with ads funded by the candidates, their parties and political action committees aimed at bolstering their differences. Both candidates were predicted to win, but the outcome of the race would not be known for several days. —After more polls were released Friday night, the AP announced three House races where Democratic incumbents faced tough challenges: In two districts that stretch from Las Vegas through the suburbs to rural areas, Rep. Susie Lee fended off Republican April Becker, and Tuesday Rep. Steven Horsford defeated Republican Samuel Peters. As a result of the redistricting, six-term Rep. Dina Titus was in the hot seat in the traditional Democratic stronghold that included the Las Vegas Strip after party strategists sacrificed some turf in exchange for gains elsewhere. He survived against Mark Robertson, a retired Army colonel seeking to become the first Republican to win the 1st District seat since 1998. The victories bolstered Democrats’ strong chances of clinging to control of the House, though Republicans remained close to flipping the chamber. THE NEVADA WAY A few things have slowed vote counting in Nevada in recent elections. For one, Nevada greatly expanded absentee voting in 2020, sending a ballot to every registered voter. The state passed legislation to do this in future elections. That year, nearly 15% of Nevada’s votes weren’t reported until after election night — and it took three days for the state to report 100% of the votes. Second, Nevada has had problems with long lines of voters at the close of the polls, although Nevadans have traditionally chosen to vote early. The state will not release the vote count until all voters who were in line at the close of the polls have cast their ballots. Election Day postmarked ballots can be picked up through Saturday, and officials have until Thursday to complete the count and submit a report to the Nevada Secretary of State’s office, according to state law. This year, voters in the two most populous counties, which include the population centers of Las Vegas and Reno, warned it would take days to process pending ballots. The state does not have a mandatory counting law.
Mike Catalini can be reached at https://twitter.com/mikecatalini
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