RENO, Nev. (AP) 鈥� One morning last month, Cari-Ann Burgess did something completely unremarkable: She made a quick stop at a coffee shop on her way to work.
For Burgess, the top election official in a northern Nevada county, such outings could be precarious. As she waited for a hot tea and breakfast sandwich, an older woman approached.
鈥淪he proceeded to tell me that I should be ashamed of myself -- that I鈥檓 a disgrace, I鈥檓 an embarrassment to Washoe County, and I should crawl into a hole and die,鈥� Burgess said in an interview with The Associated Press the following day.
A morning stop at the coffee shop would be no more. It was added to a growing list of things Burgess no longer did because of her job. She already had stopped shopping for groceries and other basic necessities. Meals were eaten at home.
鈥淚 go to work, I go home, and I go to church 鈥� that鈥檚 about it,鈥� Burgess said. 鈥淚鈥檓 very cautious now about where I go.鈥�
Still, Burgess said she was looking forward to November and overseeing the presidential election with her team in Nevada鈥檚 second most populous county. That came to an end one day toward the end of September, when she was called into a meeting with county officials.
The county said Burgess to deal with stress and has referred to her departure as a personnel matter. In a statement, it said it was 鈥渇ocused on conducting a smooth and fair election.鈥� Burgess said she was after refusing to go along with personnel changes sought by the county manager鈥檚 office. She said she asked repeatedly to stay, even providing a doctor鈥檚 note vouching for her health, and has hired a lawyer.
Overseeing the office now is Burgess鈥� deputy, the fifth person in four years to run the county election operation. The entire staff is new since 2020. The turnover is one symptom of a county that is closely divided politically and has been buffeted by since Republican Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Burgess, in her first public remarks since her abrupt departure, told the AP this past week that she was worried about her team and was at a loss on what to do next.
鈥淚 was giving 110% of who I was, who I am to this job. And then all of a sudden I鈥檓 out and I don鈥檛 understand,鈥� Burgess said, as she considered her next steps. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 understand how we got to this point.鈥�
AP journalists were in Reno in September, a week before her departure, and spent several days with Burgess that included time at the Washoe County elections office and at her home. As with those , Burgess and her staff had been in a pressure cooker, subject to biting criticism at public meetings and made to answer about voting machines, drop boxes and voter rolls.
Dealing with members of the elected county commission who distrust elections made the job even more difficult.
Burgess was an extreme case of the types of challenges facing local election officials around the country after four years of false claims that have undermined public confidence in elections and in those who run them. Across the country, election workers have faced and have taken extra security precautions this year that include adding .
Over the three days that the AP spent with Burgess, she gave no indication she planned to leave her job.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 think I was going to be in a place that I am now -- so front and center and a hotbed for this election, but I am grateful,鈥� Burgess said, while sitting in her living room surrounded by inspirational Bible passages and Christian symbols. 鈥淚鈥檓 grateful for the opportunity. I鈥檓 grateful that I am able to serve my country again.鈥�
The Washoe County election office sits inside a complex of government buildings a few miles north of downtown Reno. Burgess鈥� office, before she left, was adorned with American flags, a copy of the U.S. Constitution and red, white and blue decorative stars that read liberty, freedom and America.
鈥淓lection Heroes Work Here,鈥� proclaimed a sign outside her office door.
She was the fourth person to lead the Washoe County election office since 2020, named interim registrar of voters in January in a 3-2 vote by the county commission.
Across parts of the United States, local election officials exhausted by the harassment and demands of the job have entirely. Even Burgess had stopped working in elections for a time after being harassed in public by people upset Trump had lost in 2020, even though he had easily won the Minnesota county where she worked at the time.
Arriving in Washoe County, where the Sierra Nevada transitions to the high desert, Burgess encountered a county mired in voting-related conspiracy theories. County meetings are often prolonged by members of the public who opposed Burgess鈥� hiring and who don鈥檛 trust voting equipment.
鈥淚t feels like you鈥檙e on the front line, but it鈥檚 a different front line. It鈥檚 the front line of democracy -- not the front line of combat,鈥� Burgess said. 鈥淏ut the way the country is divided at the moment, it feels like combat because every day you鈥檙e combatting some misinformation.鈥�
A few days before her departure, Burgess brought in a consultant to lead training for staff on how to manage stress. Among the many other things on her to-do list were security upgrades at the election office.
Among the recommendations was placing a film over the glass windows that can slow, but not stop, bullets.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 when I realized I have a lot more dangerous job than I actually expected," Burgess said. "It should never, ever be like this.鈥�
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Christina A. Cassidy, The Associated Press
