The top election official in a politically crucial Nevada county says she was forced out

The top election official in one of the nation’s most politically important counties said Wednesday she was forced out of her role just weeks before the November presidential election, disputing an official statement that she asked for a leave after experiencing “stress issues.”

The abrupt departure of Cari-Ann Burgess as the interim registrar of voters in northern Nevada’s Washoe County one month ago is the latest sign of turmoil in a county that has been roiled for four years by people pushing election conspiracy theories. Washoe, which includes Reno, is a swing county in a state where this year’s presidential contest is expected to be narrowly decided.

Burgess told The Associated Press in an interview that she had refused personnel changes sought by the county manager’s office and had offered to step down and return to her prior position as deputy. She said she was told that was not possible.

In a meeting with county staff, including representatives of the district attorney’s office, Burgess said she was forced to put a request for leave in writing despite her desire to stay.

“I feel like I was absolutely forced out, but I have no idea how we got to this point,” Burgess said in her first public remarks since her departure. “Because the previous Friday and Monday, before I was put on leave, I was having high praises. They were like, ‘You’re doing a great job, you’ve got this, you’re the best person for this job because you brought this team together.’

“And then all of a sudden, I was out on leave.”

Burgess said she has hired a lawyer and was considering her legal options.

In a Sept. 27 statement, Washoe County spokeswoman Bethany Drysdale said Burgess had “experienced stress issues and requested medical leave.” Washoe County Manager Eric Brown told commissioners during an Oct. 8 meeting that Burgess was on leave and that she had not been fired and had not quit.

George Guthrie, a spokesman for the county election office, on Wednesday reiterated the county’s previous statement that Burgess had requested a leave and that the county was committed to “running a smooth and fair election.”

Nevada is one of seven presidential battleground states that Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump are hotly contesting ahead of the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Washoe is the state’s second most populous county and is considered a bellwether because its elections are often narrowly decided and its vote can tip statewide elections. Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, has voted solidly Democratic in the past two presidential elections.

A deputy filling in for Burgess is now the fifth person in four years to oversee elections in the politically mixed county. The staff has turned over entirely since the 2020 presidential election, Burgess said.

A spokeswoman for the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office declined to comment about the situation in Washoe County.

Across the country, conspiracy theories and lies about the 2020 presidential election have created a difficult working environment for local election officials, who have faced harassment and even death threats. That has prompted election officials nationwide to prepare for what could be a tumultuous election, providing panic buttons for polling place supervisors and installing bulletproof glass at their offices.

In Reno, county government meetings are often prolonged by members of the public who opposed Burgess’ hiring as the interim registrar in January and who want the county to hand-count votes because they don’t trust voting equipment. They also want election staff to do more to combat voter fraud, even though there is no evidence of any widespread fraud or manipulated voting equipment in 2020 or afterward.

After the state primary earlier this year, the county commission’s Republican majority voted 3-2 against certifying the results. They later reversed course, but Burgess said the initial vote hurt morale among her team at the election office.

Commissioner Jeanne Herman, a Republican who has consistently voted against certifying election results since 2020, said news of Burgess’ departure came as a surprise. Herman told the AP Wednesday that state GOP officials had met with Burgess for two hours to talk about their concerns shortly before Burgess went on leave.

“They came away thinking, ‘Great, our election might just turn out OK,’” she said. “Then all of a sudden she was gone.”

Burgess said the changes requested of her by county administrators involved assigning some election office staffers to a different department while keeping them working inside the office.

“I wouldn’t have any say in what they were doing. And I said no to that,” she said.

She tried to return after being placed on leave, obtaining a doctor’s note indicating she was fine to work, but county officials refused and told her the situation would be taken up after the presidential election. She said she has been forced to use her sick pay and vacation time, and was told not to contact her staff or speak with reporters.

“I wanted to stay and help this team,” Burgess said. “They have done so much and have done such amazing things in the last year that — yeah, I wanted to be part of it. And I wanted to help them, and they told me no.”

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Associated Press writer Rio Yamat in Las Vegas contributed to this report.

Christina A. Cassidy, The Associated Press