Nevada

Are Nevada election workers at risk in the 2024 election?

Published

2 years ago

September 13, 2024

Are Nevada election workers at risk in the 2024 election?

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — There has been a rise in threats to election workers since 2020, especially in the battleground state of Nevada.

In our state, election integrity has come under fire.

Between the 2020 election and 2022 midterms, more than half of Nevada’s top election officials left their jobs, many citing threats and harassment.

During the 2023 legislative session, state lawmakers wanted to add protection to poll workers. Both chambers passed Senate Bill 406, which makes it unlawful to threaten, intimidate or harass an election worker. Gov. Joe Lombardo signed it into law.

“Election workers and poll workers are our unsung heroes of democracy,” said Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar.

Aguilar was a strong proponent of SB 406. He told Channel 13 the Secretary of State’s office has been no exception to threats.

“Even in the Secretary of State’s office, we saw situations that were unacceptable,” said Aguilar. “We need to bring decency back to our elections.”

KTNV

Senate Bill 406 makes it unlawful to threaten, intimidate or harass an election worker.

Channel 13 spoke to Aguilar about the ripple effects of election negativity. In terms of finding more workers, he said counties are getting “creative.”

“When we’re not able to retain the talent that we need to have in elections, it hurts all of us because some of that historical knowledge is invaluable,” said Aguilar.

Several voters across our state also testified in support of SB 406 last year.

“The stories used to be about the challenges of getting a set of volunteers, often senior citizens, up to speed on the tech, getting everything done, getting the results in a timely manner, and doing all of that,” said Kent Ervin, a Reno voter. “In the last few years, it has been about the difficulties of having enough poll workers and then having colleagues at the county quit their jobs because of these kinds of threats.”

Donna West, a Las Vegas voter, also testified in support, saying she has seen threats to election workers firsthand.

“During the 2020 election cycle, I was a vote count observer at the Clark County election office and saw the increase in intimidation and violence there,” West said.

Aguilar said in this election cycle, clerks are working hard to make sure Nevada is a “safe, secure and accessible election.” He said the state also implemented a new voter registration system.

“It’s going to bring transparency into the process,” said Aguilar.

Those who harass, intimidate or threaten election workers in Nevada could face up to four years in prison.

Source link

Click to comment

Nevada

IN RESPONSE: Cortez Masto lands bill would keep the proceeds in Nevada

Published

1 hour ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

IN RESPONSE: Cortez Masto lands bill would keep the proceeds in Nevada

A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.

Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.

What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.

The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.

So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.

I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.

Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.

Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.

Source link