5 steps Nevada officials are taking to keep 2024 elections secure

It’s officially 2024 — a year when Nevadans will elect state legislators, federal representatives and perhaps a new president of the United States.

The last presidential election saw rampant, unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud with candidates claiming their election was stolen, spurring attacks on election workers and increased distrust in the election system.

Nevada’s overseer of elections, Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, and the state’s chief prosecutor, Attorney General Aaron Ford, outlined during a Wednesday news conference some of the steps the state is taking to ensure integrity and safety in the three state-run elections for 2024: the Feb. 6 presidential preference primary, the June 11 primary and the Nov. 5 general election.

“This election season will draw some strong emotions, as people debate which candidate to support or disagreements on policy issues,” Aguilar said. “Some people may even want to argue about the best way to cast a ballot. But disagreements are no excuse to bring violence or harassment into the electoral process. That’s not how a democracy works.”

1. Investigating and prosecuting voter fraud

Aguilar and Ford said there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud, and their offices take complaints of voter fraud seriously and will continue to investigate them.

Before 2020, the secretary of state’s office would receive about a few dozen complaints about an election. During the 2022 election, the office received nearly 700 election integrity violation reports, Aguilar said.

More than 300 were about issues relating to poll observers, such as observation areas being full, and 165 were related to ballots, such as a ballot being delivered to an incorrect address, according to the secretary of state’s office. Ninety reports were related to candidates, such as questions about fiscal reports, and 50 were about voter registration and list maintenance.

Since 2020, the secretary of state’s office has referred 14 cases for potential prosecution.

In addition to prosecuting Donald Kirk Hartle for using his deceased wife’s ballot to cast a second vote, Ford’s office charged three others with attempting to vote twice in 2022 and two people with attempting to vote twice in 2020.

“These are attempts of voter fraud, meaning that these people were actually caught in an act and the system actually worked,” Ford said.

If someone has evidence of voter fraud such as someone voting twice, they can file a complaint with the secretary of state or Ford’s office, the attorney general said.

“We will investigate and if the allegations have merit, we will prosecute,” he said.

2. Increasing capacity to investigate fraud claims

Because of the increase in election integrity violation reports, the secretary of state’s office successfully requested funding for more help in the last legislative session. It has two new civil investigators and one new criminal investigator who will help complete investigations in a timely manner, according to the secretary of state’s office.

In an effort to increase transparency, Aguilar’s office will publish quarterly reports on election investigations that include the number of election integrity violation reports the office received, as well as the number referred to the attorney general’s office for possible prosecution.

3. Recruiting lawyers for poll workers

To help increase the number of poll workers, Aguilar and Ford are recommending to the State Bar of Nevada that it allow lawyers to receive Continuing Legal Education credit for working at polls. Attorneys must complete 13 credit hours of CLE every year, Aguilar said.

“If Nevada incentivizes lawyers to volunteer as poll workers, they can bring with them their expertise and the authority of the law,” Aguilar said.

Aguilar encouraged people to volunteer at the polls, especially those in rural counties. Douglas County, for example, recruited 60 poll workers this year — about half the number it usually gets, Aguilar said.

4. Training election officials

Nevada’s election offices have seen a lot of turnover in staffing, with more than half of top county election officials leaving since the 2020 election. Washoe County’s registrar recently resigned, and Joe Gloria, Clark County’s longtime registrar of voters, retired after the 2022 election.

Aguilar said his office is making sure election officials have resources and access to training. Deputy Secretary of State for Elections Mark Wlaschin has been communicating with each and every county department every two weeks, Aguilar said.

In the last legislative session, legislators passed Senate Bill 54, which requires the secretary of state to publish an elections procedure manual and requires county and city clerks to comply with the manual. It also requires the secretary of state to provide training to election officials on election procedures.

“Our state runs some of the most accessible, secure elections in the country,” Aguilar said. “This is possible thanks to the hard-working election officials that have been working tirelessly to prepare and the poll workers that are gearing up to help make these elections happen.”

5. Increasing safety and security measures

Nevada’s Election Integrity Task Force — overseen by the secretary of state’s office and composed of law enforcement officials — will ensure the safety of voters and election workers and protect access to the ballot box. The office also has dedicated cybersecurity staff and is bringing in additional technical resources to keep voter and election data secure, Aguilar said.

Law enforcement will be present on Election Day to keep election workers safe, Ford said. He also touted the election worker safety law that Aguilar pushed for in the 2023 Legislature to increase penalties for harassing and intimidating election workers. That law is currently being challenged in court.

Elizabeth Ray, spokesperson for Gov. Joe Lombardo, said in a statement to the Review-Journal that after Democrats refused to advance his Election Integrity Act, which would have required voter ID and would have ended universal mail ballots, “it’s encouraging to see two elected Democratic officials join the fight for a holistic and nonpartisan review of the security of our elections.”

“Governor Lombardo looks forward to speaking with the Attorney General and Secretary of the State about their efforts and bringing Republicans and Democrats together to build trust in our election system,” Ray said.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.