Culinary Union Working to Cure Challenged Ballots in Nevada Election

Posted on: November 12, 2022, 09:53h. 

Last updated on: November 14, 2022, 12:00h.

Steve Bittenbender Read More
Expertise: Legislation, Sports Betting, Horse Racing.

Fresh off a canvassing effort that reached more than one million households in Nevada, the Culinary Union said on Friday that its work for the 2022 election is not yet done.

Cortez Masto
Nevada US Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto speaks on the Senate floor on providing support for schools and broadband access in August 2020. Cortez Masto, a Democrat, currently trails Republican challenger Adam Laxalt by less than 900 votes, with thousands more left to be counted. (Image: CortezMasto.Senate.Gov)

With elections officials in Clark and Washoe counties indicating there are about 9,600 ballots with signature issues, Culinary Union Secretary-Treasurer Ted Pappageorge said the labor group that represents Nevada casino workers will now work to make sure all those votes are counted.

Since Wednesday, 200 canvassers have worked to cure ballots that have been contested, Pappageorge said.

Culinary Union is phone banking and canvassing full-time, organizers are also contacting hospitality workers on their lunch breaks in unionized casino resorts’ Employee Dining Rooms on the Las Vegas Strip,” he said. “Culinary Union is working in coalition with labor and community partners to cure ballots and ensure that Nevadans votes are counted. The Culinary Union is doing everything we can to ensure Nevadans voices are heard and their votes are counted.”

The deadline to cure ballots and have them counted in this year’s races is 5 p.m. PT Monday.

Cured Votes Could Decide Key Senate Race

The curing effort will not help Gov. Steve Sisolak (D), who lost his reelection campaign and officially conceded to Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo on Friday night. However, the Culinary Union’s work may influence which party controls the US Senate starting in January.

According to the Nevada Secretary of State’s office, Republican challenger Adam Laxalt leads Democratic US Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto by 862 votes (48.5% to 48.4%) out of more than 965,000 ballots counted.

However, Jon Ralston of the Nevada Independent reported Saturday morning there are about 23,000 votes left to count in Clark County and 8,000 more in Washoe. Those are the two largest in the state and counties where Cortez Masto has been leading throughout.

Oh, and the Clark County total, he added, does not include roughly 5,500 provisional ballots or the “thousands” of uncured ballots there.

If counting trends continue, Cortez Masto is expected to overtake Laxalt and secure a 50th Democratic seat in the US Senate. In a 50-50 senate, Vice President Kamala Harris would cast any tiebreaking votes, which would ensure the Democrats retain control of the Senate for the next two years.

“By the end of the day, we may know if Nevada has rendered Georgia irrelevant, or if everyone still has Georgia on their minds,” he tweeted.

How to Cure Your Ballot

If you voted in Clark or Washoe counties, you can check the counties’ websites (Click here for Clark and here for Washoe) to determine if your ballot has been challenged and needs to be cured.

In both counties, voters can cure a ballot by calling the county registrar’s office (702-455-6552 in Clark and 775-328-3670 in Washoe) and providing them with the last four digits of your Social Security number, your place of birth, and date of birth. If you received a letter from the registrar’s office, you can also complete the affidavit on the back of that letter and either email it or deliver it to the office personally.

Washoe County voters can also cure their ballot online and must submit a picture of their identification. In Clark County, voters can respond by text if they’ve received notification their ballot has been challenged. The county will respond with a link to a website where voters can cure their ballot.