Late Candidate Keeps Votes in Reno Family Court Race
Mail-in ballots received by 5 p.m. Saturday will still be counted before the race is finalized.
Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Elections
Reno voters who cast ballots for family court judge in Washoe District Court were still choosing from a race whose candidate, family law attorney Lance White, died on August 21, 2026, after ballots had been printed. White received more than 37,000 votes on Election Day, while opponent Alexander Morey had 88,000 votes, or 70%, as of November 5, 2026.
Why it matters
Nevada law treats the outcome of a nonpartisan race where a candidate has died differently from a partisan one, so what happens next depends on the type of race and how the vacancy is filled. The race has not been finalized, leaving open how the seat will be filled.
Unofficial tallies show White with more than 37,000 votes and Morey with 88,000, or 70% of the vote, as of November 5, 2026. The race is not finalized, and late mail-in ballots postmarked by Election Day will still be counted through Saturday.
The players
Lance White
Reno family law attorney and third-time candidate for family court judge in Washoe District Court who died on August 21, 2026.
Alexander Morey
Opponent in the Washoe District Court family judge race who held 70% of the vote as of November 5, 2026.
The details
Lance White, a Reno family law attorney who was running for a third time for family court judge in Washoe District Court, died on August 21, 2026, after ballots had already been printed. Polling centers posted notices informing voters of his death, but his name remained on the ballot and he received more than 37,000 votes on Election Day. Because the race is nonpartisan, a vacancy would be treated as if an elected candidate had died in office and filled through a special election under Nevada law. In 2018, Dennis Hof won a partisan Nevada Assembly seat with 68% of the vote three weeks after his death, while county officials appointed a Republican replacement in that case, a different path than applies here.
Timeline
August 21, 2026: Lance White dies after ballots are printed.
November 3, 2026: Election Day; White receives more than 37,000 votes.
November 5, 2026: Morey holds 70% of the vote; race not finalized.
Saturday after Election Day, 5 p.m.: Deadline for mail-in ballots to be received.
The Truckee Meadows View
Nevada voters have seen this before, most notably when Dennis Hof won a 2018 Assembly seat with 68% of the vote three weeks after his death. The Washoe family court race follows that pattern, but because it is nonpartisan, the vacancy will be filled through a special election rather than a party appointment.
If you voted in the Washoe District Court family judge race, your ballot still counts for the nonpartisan contest even though one candidate has died. Watch for the final count and the special election process that will follow to fill the seat.
The takeaway
A deceased candidate can still take a large share of votes, and in a nonpartisan Nevada race that leads to a special election rather than a party appointment. Watch for the certified final count after the Saturday mail-in deadline to see how the seat will be filled.
What happens next
Mail-in ballots postmarked on or before Election Day and received by 5 p.m. Saturday will be counted, and the race will be finalized after that tally.
Further reading
For more on how the region's ballots and results are handled, browse our Elections coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Reno Gazette Journal.
