Nevada county set for conspiracy-inspired ballot hand count

A county in Nevada is scheduled to start an unprecedented hand count of its midterm ballots Wednesday, a process fueled by voting machine conspiracy theories that raises concerns about early results being leaked ahead of Election Day.

Nye County, a scrub brush-dotted old silver mining region about halfway between Las Vegas and Reno, got clearance for the count from the state supreme court last week. The approval came with conditions that it had to take numerous steps to prevent early vote tallies in any race from being reported publicly.

Nevada is home to one of the most closely watched U.S. Senate races in the country, as well as high-stakes contests for governor and the office that oversees elections.