ACLU sues Nye County, claims it blocked election watcher
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada has filed a lawsuit against Nye County, alleging that the county illegally prohibited an ACLU observer from watching the 2024 presidential preference primary.
The suit, filed in Nye County District Court on Tuesday, claims that Nye County did not allow Jacob Smith, an ACLU lawyer, to observe the primary voting, ballot handling and ballot processing because he was a “nonpartisan” observer, even though there was space available.
In doing so, Nye County violated state law and the Nevada Constitution, the ACLU said.
“Nye County violated Mr. Smith’s and the ACLU of Nevada’s right to observe the election process pursuant to Nevada law, and unconstitutionally restricted their right to access information on government activities,” the ACLU said in the suit.
County spokesperson Arnold Knightly said the county was aware of the lawsuit but declined to comment.
In February, the ACLU filed a similar complaint with the state about an incident in Nye County.
The secretary of state’s office found that a county clerk can “limit the number of observers to maintain order,” according to a March 18 letter from the office attached to the lawsuit as an exhibit.
In the complaint involving Smith, the ACLU alleged that then-County Clerk Mark Kampf blocked him at the Bob Ruud Community Center in Pahrump.
When Smith visited on Jan. 27, the suit said, Kampf told him he couldn’t watch the check-in or voting areas because each already had a nonpartisan observer and only one would be admitted to an area at a time.
Another nonpartisan observer eventually gave up their seat, allowing Smith to be in the check-in area, but he couldn’t see voters filling out or returning their ballots, the ACLU said.
A document attached to the suit that included a “Nye Clerk Comment,” but was unsigned, said, “I asked that only one person from each organization observe at a time since we anticipated that we would have observers from the Major Political Parties.”
Kampf could not be reached for comment.
This is not the first time the ACLU has complained about problems observing elections in Nye County.
In 2022, the organization told the secretary of state’s office that one of its ballot-counting watchers was removed by a person openly carrying a gun who demanded her notes.
“Election observers are essential to maintaining faith in our democracy,” said ACLU of Nevada Director Athar Haseebullah in a statement Thursday. “Nye County’s policy serves no legitimate purpose and severely undermines the public’s trust, particularly at a time when misinformation and conspiracy theories are widespread.”
Contact Noble Brigham at nbrigham@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BrighamNoble on X.
