Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

County bill for GOP primary contested

CARSON CITY -- Secretary of State Dean Heller says Clark County Registrar Kathryn Ferguson padded the presidential primary election cost by $100,000.

He said he's not going to pay the full $377,409 bill submitted by Ferguson.

"It's time to sharpen the pencil," Heller said, meaning he is going to disallow much of the reimbursement sought by Clark County and some other counties. The state is responsible for paying the cost of the election held a month ago.

Ferguson responded: "We didn't overbill. These are the true costs. Rumors that some people inflated the costs are not true."

All Republican registered voters were sent ballots and 50 percent voted. The Democratic Party decided not to have a presidential primary election.

Clark County included the cost of employees who are already on the job, Heller said, adding that Carson City charged in that manner as well. The state will pay overtime for those workers but will not cover regular-time pay, he said.

Heller said that charge amounted to about $100,000 for Clark County.

Ferguson said county workers were taken away from other tasks to help with the presidential primary. "I assumed we would not be reimbursed but it was important to show the true cost," she said.

Noting that Ferguson criticized the election, Heller said, "Perhaps the conclusion you can draw from this is that the more you are against the mail-in ballot, the more it costs."

Her opposition to a mail-in election, Ferguson said, has nothing to do with the purchase of electronic voting machines as suggested by Heller. Ferguson said mail voting should be limited to "those with a valid need ... those over 65 or disabled, in the military or a student."

Heller

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