If you drop your mail ballot off at the Clark County Election Department in North Las Vegas, you’ll notice a chain-link fence around the building. It wasn’t there in 2020.
Clark County Registrar of Voters Lorena Portillo says it’s part of new security measures to better protect poll workers and election facilities in response to an uptick in threats nationwide.
“[With] security, we are aware of what we saw in 2020, therefore, we are prepping accordingly. We did have protests here at the department. They were not distracting or interrupting our process,” Portillo tells the Weekly.
Her predecessor, Joe Gloria, resigned in late 2022, and at the time detailed to the Associated Press the harassment and threats he and his staff faced in the 2020 election. Protesters with “stop the steal” signs and Trump flags stood 100 feet from his office door, some carrying weapons, as he and staff counted ballots. He also received messages saying things like, “We know where you live,” and “We know where your family sleeps.”
The anger and threats all stemmed from lies that the 2020 election was stolen. Those lies—which would go on to fuel an armed insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021—continue today, as Donald Trump and running mate JD Vance continue to falsely claim that Joe Biden did not win the 2020 election, and that the only way they’d lose in 2024 is if Democrats “cheat again.”
The claims have been repeatedly proven wrong in courts across the nation. But despite what the courts say, disinformation has already spread, prompting extremists to target election officials and infrastructure. Police and their state and federal partners are investigating incendiary devices that set fires to ballot drop boxes in Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington, which destroyed hundreds of ballots.
Another ripple effect of Trump and his allies’ lies was massive turnover of election officials across the state. According to the Nevada Secretary of State, clerks in 11 of Nevada’s 17 counties are new since 2020. At the time Gloria left office, more than half of the elections department within the secretary of state’s office had turned over since the 2020 election.
But there’s promising new blood in Nevada’s elections administrators. Portillo, who has worked for the Election Department since 1998 and assumed the role of registrar in March 2023, says the county has done extensive trainings for election workers, and that they and law enforcement are ready for any scenario that might come up.
Portillo says she cannot share security protocols for the 2024 general election. “But I can assure you, this election is just as important as any other election. We have definitely increased our presence, not only here at headquarters, but our conversations have been many,” she says.
In addition to the Clark County Election Department’s public safety office fielding any reports of threats that come in, local officials are working with law enforcement at local, state and federal levels to ensure the security of election workers, and of voters, she adds.
After consulting with election officials and state leaders, Republican Governor of Nevada Joe Lombardo has announced that 60 members of the state’s National Guard will be activated to support state and local resources and law enforcement on Election Day.
“We do not expect that these personnel will need to be deployed,” Lombardo said in a statement. “As a first responder, I know first-hand the importance of being prepared, and this decision reflects my commitment to safety and preparedness on Election Day.”
Agencies will need to be extra vigilant this year, according to a bulletin issued by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security in early October. The bulletin warns that domestic extremists “with election-related grievances” could try to target political candidates, elected officials and public places during the election up through the inauguration in January.
Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar tells the Weekly the bulletin was “something we’d been discussing already.”
“But we have a relationship through our partners at the Election Integrity Task Force to be able to address those situations,” Aguilar says.
Nevada’s Election Integrity Task Force is composed of federal, state and local law enforcement. “That collaboration exists through constant communication. And so, if a situation arose on this exact issue, the task force would be engaged,” Aguilar adds.
Since he took office in 2023, Aguilar’s office has stepped up to fill the gaping holes left in the wake of the 2020 election cycle. It has hired and trained new elections staff, including a team to investigate election integrity violation reports; implemented a top-down voter registration system for greater efficiency; and introduced a new text messaging campaign to communicate accurate information and to combat any disinformation that might spread. The office also worked with the Nevada Legislature to pass a law in 2023 making harassment, intimidation or use of force on election workers a felony punishable by a fine up to $5,000 and up to four years in prison.
Aside from an instance in 2023 where a letter with suspicious white powder was sent to his office, Aguilar says he hasn’t experienced harassment or threats this election cycle. He says that might be attributable to the new law. No arrests have been made based on that law, he adds.
While they may not be dealing with overt threats and harassment, Aguilar’s office is fielding a barrage of lawsuits based on unfounded claims about the 2024 election. Aguilar says his office is involved in 23 active lawsuits right now.
One of them, filed in September by the Trump campaign, the Republican National Committee and Nevada GOP, alleges that noncitizens are allowed to register to vote and are included on voter rolls.In a statement, Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald, who in the past has told rally crowds to “worship Donald Trump,” said the filing was about “preserving the integrity of our elections.”
But according to Aguilar, the claims are false and “only create distrust in our elections” as they move through the courts.
Voting and civil rights groups have also stepped up to ensure that elections are being administered fairly. The ACLU of Nevada is leading a statewide Voter Protection Alliance made up of volunteers who are observing the polls and communicating with county staff and the Secretary of State should any issues arise.
“Our program is the largest it has been, because threats to democracy are so unparalleled versus years prior. We’ll have several hundred volunteers statewide, and I think we’ll have four or five dozen attorneys statewide that will also be participating in our program. For the first time ever, we’re going to be covering all 17 counties on Election Day. So every county will have at least one observer there,” says ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah.
The ACLU’s volunteer poll observers serve a dual purpose: to help ensure that people are able to vote without interference, and also to serve as monitors for election subversion threats.
Certifying election results has become politicized since 2020, as demonstrated when three of five Washoe County Commissioners, steeped in countywide beliefs in election conspiracy theories, initially voted against certifying primary election recount results in the 2024 primaries. At the federal level, Vance has said he would not have certified the 2020 election for Biden, if he were vice president at the time instead of Mike Pence. Such actions could set a precedent for 2024—and for 2029, if Vance is the sitting vice president.
“What it is likely going to be is, there’s going to be at least a few of these counties that simply say they’re not going to certify the results if they don’t like the results the way that they come out,” Haseebullah says. “We’re planning on bringing litigation quickly if that happens.”
According to Aguilar and Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, Nevada law makes canvassing election results, including recounts, by a certain date a mandatory legal duty.
Voter Protection Alliance poll observers will also be looking out for any possible intimidation at the polls, Haseebullah adds. While Clark County says they’re not aware of any voter intimidation since 2020, it’s not unheard of. In Maricopa County a District Court judge granted the League of Women Voters of Arizona a temporary restraining order after a group encouraged people to watch ballot boxes in the 2022 midterms. Local and federal law enforcement received reports of people, some armed, watching the ballot boxes, with some voters alleging they were taking photos and videos and following voters, according to the Associated Press.
Clark County officials say anyone can call 702-455-2944 to report and get assistance with any harassment that might occur.
“Clark County works closely with local, state and federal authorities all year long on election safety. It remains a top priority as the [Election] Department has worked to enhance safety measures throughout the past four years because of our close partnership with law enforcement,” the county said in a statement.
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