NOTE: This image is an example of what will be shown on the livestream. It will not be live until 6 a.m., January 26.
The Washoe County Registrar of Voters will offer a livestream video of the ballot-processing room throughout the duration of the Presidential Preference Primary, Interim Registrar Cari-Ann Burgess announced today.
The livestream system employs four cameras with individual timestamps, delivering a single 1080p feed. This enables citizens to view high-quality video of the ballot processing area, while still safeguarding sensitive information that may be displayed on screens or ballots. The four cameras have been strategically positioned to show all stages of ballot-processing.
“Transparency of the process fosters trust and understanding of the process, so this livestream is an essential function of our election,” Burgess said. “Even though we are not mandated to offer this, we feel it is our duty as public servants to invite the public to see what is happening in our office.”
The livestream will launch at 6 a.m. on Saturday, January 27 – the first day of early voting – and continue 24-7 until the Canvass of the Vote, February 16. There are two ways to view the livestream: YouTube and the Washoe County website.
YouTube limits livestreams to 12 hours, so the YouTube stream will reboot every 11 hours and 55 minutes. Viewers can watch each session on the Washoe County YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/washoecountytv. Each session will be its own steam so viewers will need to go to the channel, not the previous video, to watch each successive session.
In order to provide redundancy, particularly during those few minutes that the YouTube stream refreshes, the video will also be playing nonstop at www.washoecounty.gov/voters/2024-election/livestream-backup.php. The website stream will be in real-time only, so those wishing to playback or pause will need to watch on YouTube.
All video content is recorded on an in-house network storage device for data redundancy. This ensures data integrity and facilitates easy retrieval for public record requests. The entire system is on a closed network and cannot be accessed remotely. We have equipped the system with a UPS backup, providing approximately 1.5 hours of runtime during power outages. Additionally, in the event of a network failure that causes the YouTube and WOWZA streams to go down, video recording will continue in-house.
This courtesy video feed of the elections office is a collaborative effort between Washoe County Digital Communications, Technology Services, Registrar of Voters, Security. Washoe County was among the first counties in the nation to livestream its elections, beginning in 2018. Please contact Washoe311 with any questions: www.WashoeCounty.gov/311.
