‘I can’t fix the anger’: Election workers see a system under strain
Nikki Bryan loves her job. Or rather, she used to.
After more than two decades as the top official overseeing elections for Nevada’s Lyon County, the third most populous county in the state, Ms. Bryan has announced that Tuesday’s election will be her last.
Many of the things she cherished about the work, like being able to serve her community “under the radar,” have evaporated over the past two years. She and her staff are under scrutiny like never before. And she’s gotten a steady stream of accusatory calls and emails, mostly from Republicans and mostly about fraud – which Ms. Bryan finds particularly exasperating, given that former President Donald Trump won Lyon County in 2020 by more than 40 points.
“I love this county and I want to see elections done right,” says Ms. Bryan, a lifelong Republican herself, from her office in Yerington, as three voters cast early ballots on electronic machines in a nearby hallway. “But I can’t fix the anger. I’ve tried.”
In 2020, thousands of veteran local officials like Ms. Bryan served as critical
