Faced with a requirement to buy new election equipment to comply with an executive order by President Donald Trump, Lyon County Clerk/Treasurer Staci Lindberg told the County Commission at its July 17 meeting that she estimated the cost would be about $107,000.
Lindberg gave a presentation with slides showing the equipment that would be required to comply with the order, adding she was seeking to get input, answer questions and address concerns of the board before requesting funding.
She also expressed irritation that she was only notified on July 7 that counties that purchased the equipment by June 30 would receive subsidies from the state.
“I’ve followed up with other clerks to find out how they heard of this option and was told they received individual calls stating if they had paid by June 30th, they are eligible for assistance,” Lindberg said.
Whether they upgrade the equipment or not, Lindberg said the county will be required to do a software upgrade and replace all smart cards for the 2026 election. She said the county has done that and is awaiting the promised reimbursement of $9,267.
Lindberg said Trump signed an executive order on March 25. That order bans ballots containing votes within barcodes, which Lindberg said makes the county’s current system obsolete, even though the county does not use the barcodes.
“We’ve always audited from those paper ballots,” she said.
Lindberg said the state is requiring the new equipment for the 2026 election even though Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar has joined in a lawsuit against the order. Lindberg said based on the fact sheet that comes with the order it appears the President would assist in funding states that would comply with the order.
“So, I’m unsure if the decision to fight the order is affecting our ability to get federal funding assistance or if our SOS did not request assistance for our county since he chose to oppose the legitimacy of the order,” she said.
Lindberg said her research has led her to conclude that the county must comply with the equipment upgrades. She said she didn’t have quotes finalized yet but said her estimate would be approximately $107,000 if they update the existing equipment rather than replacing it in full, which she said would be about $550,000.
Lindberg said while it appears the county will have to buy the equipment from county funds, she will continue to pursue assistance.
Lindberg said the order also addresses many processes that need to be corrected and updated, but she has not received direction on how or if the Secretary of State will implement them outside of the equipment requirements. She said in conversation with the Secretary of State’s Office on whether the state will subsidize or assist in with the cost due to the executive order is when she found out counties who already purchased the equipment by June 30 will be subsidized.
Commission chairman Scott Keller wondered whether the county could sue Aguilar for interpreting something wrong and requiring something that burdens the county with the cost.
“We can get the counties that want to can sue him back, because I don’t think he has a foot to stand on, on that,” Keller said.
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