Voting Rights · Report · File No. 261102-565
Printing error put 'FALSE' on 32,000 Washoe County, Nevada, mail ballot envelopes
A vendor mistake stamped the word on return envelopes for about 32,000 voters in the Reno area. County officials say every ballot still counts, but the error comes on the eve of a close Nevada election.
Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work
Thousands of voters in Washoe County, Nevada, received mail ballot return envelopes with the word “FALSE” printed on them 1. The county's Registrar of Voters says the error hit about 32,000 envelopes in the first batch made by its printing vendor 1. The Hill reported it Monday, the day before Election Day. Local station KRNV News 4 first reported it on Oct. 29 2.
What the county says went wrong
Nevada law requires some voters to show extra identification. The envelopes have a hidden “ID Required” field, and voters who need more ID were meant to show “TRUE” there 1. For everyone else, nothing was supposed to print. Instead, the vendor's error printed “FALSE” 1.
Registrar spokesperson George Guthrie said the affected envelopes were “not limited to voters of any particular political party” 1. He said the error was caught and fixed in later batches 1. The county did not reprint the envelopes that were already made, so it faced no added cost 2.
did not affect voter registration records, identification requirements, the validity of the ballots or voters’ ability to cast their ballots
What officials say it does not do
Guthrie said the mistake did not change voter records, ID rules, whether a ballot is valid, or a voter's ability to vote 1. Voters with questions about their envelopes or ID requirements are told to contact the Washoe County Registrar of Voters 2. Neither report lists a deadline for fixing anything.
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The ballot printer is under contract through the Nevada Secretary of State's Office 2. Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar said vendors must meet a high bar and that his office is looking at its options for future elections 2. The Hill said the Secretary of State's office did not immediately answer its request for comment 1.
need to hold themselves to the highest standard
Why it matters in a close state
Nevada has a competitive race for governor. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo faces Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford 1. The race is designed as a toss-up by Cook Politico Report 1. President Trump won Nevada by about 3 points in 2024, but Lombardo has struggled to build a similar lead in polls 1.
That matters because a strange word on an official envelope can worry voters, especially older ones who rely on mail ballots and may fear their vote will be thrown out. It can also give fraud claims something to feed on. So far, the county says no ballots are invalid because of the error 1.
Ford's campaign has gained momentum since a late-October rally with former Vice President Kamala Harris 1. It also benefited from a candidate debate that Lombardo declined to attend 1.
The Democracy Defense Foundation, a group that visited the Registrar's office, was described in local reporting 2. Brian Sandoval, a former Nevada governor who is part of the group, said he expects no lasting harm to the election 2. What to watch next is whether any voter's ballot is challenged over the printing and how the state handles its vendor.
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Sources
- The Hill, “Thousands of Nevada voters receive mail ballots with printing error” (2026-11-02). thehill.com/homenews/campaign/6190429-washoe-nv-ballot-print
- KRNV News 4, “Printing error put "FALSE" on 32,000 Washoe County ballot return envelopes” (2026-10-30). mynews4.com/news/local/printing-error-put-false-on-32000-was
Found an error? Tell the newsroom. Corrections are noted at the top of the story.
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