CARSON CITY — A recount of ballots in select precincts from five Nevada counties sought by a last-place presidential contender will not automatically trigger a statewide recount, even if the stipulated 1 percent discrepancy is found, a state election official said Wednesday. To ask for a recount, a candidate or voter must submit a letter to the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office stating which office or ballot measure he or she is requesting be recounted, along with the precincts that they request to be included in the recount. De La Fuente, a San Diego businessman and little-known candidate, received the fewest number of votes on election night, 2,552 ballots or 0.23 percent of the vote, even fewer than Nevada’s unique “none of these candidates” option. Democratic contender Hillary Clinton won Nevada with 47.9 percent of the vote, beating Republican President-elect Donald Trump by a little more than 2 percent. In a press release Tuesday, De La Fuente said he ran in the Democratic presidential primary, then ran in the general election in various states as an independent and as the nominee of both the Reform Party and the American Delta Party in “an effort to champion election reform.”

Under state law, the secretary of state’s office has five days to complete a recount of the 93 precincts requested — two each in Carson City, Douglas, Mineral and Nye counties and the rest in Clark County, the state’s population hub and home to 2 million people. Under state law, if a discrepancy of 1 percent or more is found in either the votes received by the person requesting the recount or the person who won — Democrat Hillary Clinton in this case — a new counting of all ballots cast in that race can be ordered. De La Fuente said in a statement Tuesday that he is asking for recounts in Florida and Nevada “to create a nationwide awareness of the vulnerability of our election system” and to ensure that “your vote counts for the candidate for whom it is cast.” Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein has made similar recount requests in recent days, moving to challenge election results in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. But the final determination would be made by Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, who would consider whether the effort could change the election’s outcome and is thereby warranted. “Both states have ‘earned’ the right to be audited, the limited recounts won’t be prohibitively expensive, and neither candidate will be unfairly favored,” De La Fuente said.
Reform candidate Rocky de la Fuente files for a sample recount in parts of Nevada.