Washoe County Residents Need a Panic Button

Is Washoe County Government trying to stir-up fear? 

At the most recent Washoe County Board of County Commissioner meeting held on October 22, 2024, Deputy Registrar of Voters Andrew McDonald shed light on significant updates in election equipment. The introduction of new equipment, the poll pads and ballot extractors, marked a pivotal shift in the county's electoral infrastructure. Engaging a modern browser-based system after two decades signified a crucial step towards enhancing the efficiency of the voting process. These systems all seem to have gone online in August 2024.

Slide from Deputy Registrar of Voters Andrew McDonald’s October 22, 2024 presentation. 

McDonald stood at the podium and said, “For the first time ever we have panic buttons, and the reason we have panic buttons at all of our vote centers is just in case something were to happen out there that we don’t want to happen it makes election workers feel safer. They can press the button, 911 will get dispatched and geo-locate directly to that location to make sure our workers are safe. A few of us will also be wearing them here at this site on election night.”

Unless you attended or watched the meeting, the news of the panic buttons did not surface until November 1, 2024, nine days post the initial presentation. No media ran with the story, hence this caused the Washoe County propaganda team to start orchestrating the narrative. The delayed release aimed to build a frenzy that could potentially heighten anxiety among the public, creating a facade of imminent threats that necessitate such safety measures. Will the Washoe County propaganda team be able to keep voters away from the polls on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, is that their goal.

The Washoe County propaganda team knows this type of story would be picked up by national media if a perceived credible media source runs the story. What residents need to ask is why the Washoe County Government wants Washoe County voters to be afraid? And why is local media helping them out. Were these panic buttons at polling locations during early voting?

National media picked up the Reno Gazette Journal panic button story, November 1, 2024. 

To date, Washoe County Government, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, the Reno Police Department, the Sparks Police Department, the Nevada Secretary of State, the Nevada Attorney General cannot show us a shred of evidence where a threat has been made to an election worker in Washoe County, we inquired back to 2018. You know a report, something in writing. Not someone saying something extremely nasty to the Registrar of Voters who was walking into a local Starbucks. We are looking for an actual threat that has been reported in writing. If there are death threats, and threats of physical violence those must be reported.

Amidst the unfolding events, residents are prompted to question the underlying motives of Washoe County Government. The deliberate push towards inducing fear and unease within the voter demographic raises concerns about the true purpose behind these orchestrated narratives. With no substantial evidence of threats against election workers, the call for transparency becomes more pronounced.

Please show us the proof, and it you don’t have the proof stop hype-boiling stories around election worker safety to keep residents on edge. We have heard from some seniors they are afraid to go vote. When they call the county, they are urged to use their mail-in ballot. Picon thus ponders if Washoe County is continuing to use the media for these threat-based stories to drive voters away from in person voting and to drive to mail in ballots only for future elections.

If so, that’s a little bit diabolical and perhaps residents of Washoe County need a panic button to keep them safe from their county government.