Nevada
Records Reveal How ‘Bidenbucks’ Could Affect Battleground Nevada
At least four federal agencies likely will be involved in helping to mobilize voters in Nevada, based on President Joe Biden’s executive order on elections, which some critics call “Bidenbucks.”
Through a public records request, The Daily Signal obtained copies of letters from Nevada Secretary of State Francisco V. Aguilar to federal agencies regarding implementation of Biden’s executive order.
Executive Order 14019, which Biden signed in March 2021, directs every federal agency to be active in boosting voter participation and to partner with nonprofit organizations in doing so.
Previous records obtained by The Daily Signal as well as watchdog groups show these private actors partnering with agencies or communicating with Biden White House officials on the order.
These actors include left-leaning groups such as Demos and the American Civil Liberties Union, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Southern Poverty Law Center, billionaire financier George Soros’ Open Society Foundations, and Fair Fight Action, founded by Stacey Abrams, who lost twice as the Democrat nominee for Georgia governor.
On Oct. 27, Francisco Aguilar, a Democrat elected as Nevada’s secretary of state in 2022, wrote top officials in the federal Labor, Health and Human Services, and Veterans Affairs departments, as well as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a subagency in the Department of Homeland Security.
Aguilar’s request was for each federal agency to act as a voter registration agency in Nevada, which, he writes, is pursuant to Biden’s executive order.
“Your partnership in this designation will greatly benefit Nevada’s voters by distributing voter registration applications, assisting with qualified voter registrations, and ensuring completed applications are transmitted to County Clerks/Registrars,” his letter to each of the four agencies says.
Aguilar’s letter also cites Section 7 of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act. The section requires that states offer voter registration opportunities at certain state and local offices, including public assistance and disability offices.
That section of the U.S. statute known as the “motor voter law” also says that “states may designate as voter-registration agencies nongovernmental offices (such as private colleges) or federal government offices,” according to the Justice Department.
In his letter to Labor Secretary Julie Su, Aguilar specifically asks the department to designate its American Job Centers. Those centers were established in 2014 to offer training referrals, career counseling, job listings, and other employment-related services.
A spokesperson for Aguilar did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment before publication time.
The White House previously announced that the Labor Department would encourage states to designate the more than 2,400 American Job Centers as voter registration locations.
A subagency at the Department of Health and Human Services, the Administration for Community Living, announced it would create a “voting access hub” to connect with older adults and those with disabilities who want to vote.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has announced it would provide materials and assistance in both registering and voting for tens of thousands of inpatients and residents, including inpatients at VA medical centers.
“We are exploring the opportunity to become an NVRA-designated agency in Nevada,” Veterans Affairs spokesperson Susan Carter told The Daily Signal, referring to the National Voter Registration Act.
“Currently, VA only has three pilot NVRA designated agencies in the state of Michigan,” she said.
Spokespersons for the other three federal agencies involved did not immediately respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment on this report.
The House Administration Committee, which has oversight of elections, earlier subpoenaed 15 members of Biden’s Cabinet regarding the implementation of the president’s executive order.
Republicans object to Biden’s order, noting it could prompt federal employees to violate the Hatch Act, a law that prohibits partisan political activity using government time or resources, as well as the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal agencies from spending public money on matters not authorized by Congress.
Biden administration officials have argued that the president’s order is about promoting voter accessibility and ensuring that voting is easier for Americans.
The House Committee on Small Business has investigated the Small Business Administration’s efforts to register voters, holding a hearing June 5. In March, SBA announced a memorandum of understanding with the Michigan Department of State, the chief election agency for the battleground state, to facilitate voter registration efforts ahead of the election cycle this year.
A majority of Nevada voters rejected Question 3 on the Nov. 5 ballot. This complex amendment would have eliminated party primaries, advanced five candidates to general elections and introduced a new voting method in general elections
I moved to Nevada in 2021 to care for my aging mother. Before that time, I lived in Maine, where I led efforts that opened Maine’s primaries to all voters and protected the nation’s first statewide ranked-choice voting law.
My values and experience inform me that initiatives to change how we elect our leaders should make their way to voters as the result of home-grown and grassroots movements that are thoughtful, collaborative, strategic and patient.
I am dumbfounded that out-of-state donors and advocates would come into Nevada, steamroll stakeholders and potential allies, rush a constitutional amendment to ballot and spend millions to score a quick win for their preferred policy prescription to our political ills.
As a recent Review-Journal editorial noted, the national coalition behind Question 3 pushed similar initiatives in other states in 2024. Voters rejected each of these proposals.
Here are a few of my takeaways from these failed efforts:
■ Mission and strategy must align. Election reform is inherently hopeful and optimistic. Ramming through policy changes and seeking to buy elections are anti-democratic and deeply cynical approaches to politics. Coalitions with antithetical missions and strategies will almost always fail to achieve the real and lasting change that they seek.
■ Patience is practical. Process matters. How change is made can be as important as what change is made, especially when it comes to process reforms. Elections and voting reform initiatives must be organized by local leaders who will build coalitions and recruit volunteers to secure majority support for their cause, one voter and one conversation at a time. The proper role of national groups is not to lead or dictate, but to support.
■ There is no single solution to fix our broken politics. There are 50 states and more than 50 ways of conducting elections and voting in the United States. While policymakers and advocates should learn from one another, we should be skeptical of anyone or any group that promises a silver bullet or pushes a one-size-fits-all solution.
Voters aren’t stupid. We have a sense when politicians and special interests are trying to put one over on us. Question 3 didn’t pass the straight-face test.
That’s too bad because my experience with ranked-choice voting in Maine has taught me that it works to eliminate vote-splitting and ensure majority winners. You have the freedom to vote for the candidate you like best without worrying that your vote will be “wasted” or that you will help to elect the candidate you like least. In both Maine and Alaska, ranked-choice voting has stopped extreme candidates from winning congressional races.
Ranked-choice voting also increases voter turnout, reduces negative campaigning and encourages more women and minorities to run for office.
Surveys from the states and cities in which millions of Americans rank their vote indicate that voters find it to be simple and easy to use and preferable.
One of the most disappointing false attacks on ranked-choice voting is that communities of color might find it difficult to rank candidates. To suggest that white voters are intellectually superior to voters of color is a racist argument.
Nevadans are frustrated with politics as usual. We know that our system isn’t working like it should. We know that billionaires and corporations have too much power and influence over decisions that affect us all. We want to strengthen our democracy for future generations.
Had the national advocates behind Question 3 approached this effort differently, I believe that there might have been a different outcome.
Kyle Bailey moved to Nevada in 2021 and previously served in the Maine House of Representatives.
The Nevada state high school football championships are here. Here’s how you can watch any of the championship games online on NFHS network.
Watch: Nevada High School football championships
The NIAA state football championships will air from Nov. 23 to Nov. 26 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
How can I watch Nevada high school football? Fans can subscribe to NFHS Sports Network, a nationwide streaming platform for more than 9,000 high school sports. You can find the list of available schools here.
How much does an NFHS subscription cost? Is there a free trial to NFHS Network? An annual subscription costs $79.99, or you can pay monthly for $11.99 per month.
Can you watch NFHS on your phone or TV? NFHS Network is available on smart TVs like Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Google Chromecast, as well as on iOS and Android smartphones.
Nov. 23:
10 a.m. PT: 2024 NIAA 2A Football Championship Incline Vs. Pershing County
1:30 p.m. PT: 2024 NIAA 5A Div. II Football Championship Faith Lutheran Vs. Bishop Manogue
Nov. 25:
Noon PT: 2024 NIAA 5A Div. III Football Championship Galena Vs. Centennial
Nov. 26:
9 a.m. PT: 2024 NIAA 1A Football Championship Pahranagat Valley Vs. Tonopah
12:20 p.m. PT: 2024 NIAA 3A Football Championship Truckee Vs. SLAM Nevada
3:40 p.m. PT: 2024 NIAA 4A Football Championship Canyon Springs Vs. Mojave
7 p.m. PT: 2024 NIAA 5A Div. I Football Championship Arbor View Vs. Bishop Gorman
Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust.
RENO, Nev. (Nevada Athletics) – Nevada women’s basketball returned home after two weeks of being way, hosting Weber State, where Lexie Givens jumped to eighth all-time in rebounds in the 66-62 loss to the Wildcats.
Givens recorded 12 rebounds on the night, bumping her to eighth in the Nevada women’s basketball record book after tying ninth last season. With her rebounds, combined with 10 points, Givens got her first double-double of the season.
The first half started out strong for the Wolf Pack as they scored the first points off of free throws by Dymonique Maxie.
Nevada only gave up the lead once in the opening quarter, which it quickly got back and maintained throughout the remainder of the first 10.
Quarter two began with the Pack up 17-9.
The lead stayed with Nevada through five minutes, with Weber State slowly cutting into it. With 5:13 left in the half, the game was tied at 23. Nevada then found itself playing from behind for the rest of the quarter, trailing 40-27 heading into the break.
In the third quarter, Nevada began its comeback, cutting a once 15-point Wildcat lead down to just six. An eight-point run by the Wolf Pack allowed them to get back into it, beginning with free throws by Rakiyah Jackson. She was followed by back-to-back layups, scored first by Audrey Roden and then Izzy Sullivan.
Givens capped off the run with two more made free throws.
Weber State extended its lead a bit heading into the fourth, Nevada down, 51-43.
The final 10 saw the Wolf Pack’s first lead since the second quarter. Nevada inched its way back in front after a three-pointer by Roden, putting the Pack up, 57-56, with just over five minutes remaining in the game.
Nevada tried to keep the lead, but was unable to hold on, dropping the hard-fought battle to Weber State.
Roden, Maxie and Jackson all led the team with 11 points a piece. Jackson also recorded seven rebounds, followed by Olivia Poulivaati with six. Maxie led both teams in steals with a season high of five.
Nevada will remain at home to take on Morgan State on Sunday at 1 PM.
Copyright 2024 KOLO. All rights reserved.
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