Nevada Secretary of State fires back, asks for more funding from Congress
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar responded on Friday to a Republican congressman’s request for an explanation why voters’ history records showed they had voted in the presidential preference primary even though they had not cast a ballot.
Committee on House Administration Chairman Bryan Steil made the request on March 4. Aguilar used the opportunity to launch into a request for consistent funding for elections from the federal government.
The voter history irregularity led to pointed questions about election integrity — including Steil’s.
“Americans deserve to have confidence in their elections, which means a transparent election system where mistakes are identified and corrected,” Steil said in his letter. “I am writing to Nevada today to ensure with the November election quickly approaching that we have confidence an error like this will not occur again.”
Aguilar assured Steil that the situation was “unfortunate,” but that the error had been identified and corrected.
“To summarize: instead of 17 different county systems sending data to the state, which must by law take these disparate parts and stitch them together, a single statewide Voter Registration and Election Management System (VREMS) must be established. Assembly Bill 422 of the 2021 session of the Nevada State Legislature called for the transition to just this type of top-down system,” Aguilar wrote.
The VREMS implementation has been delayed until after the June primary election. That adjustment was made in consultation with county clerks, who said more time was needed. The system is expected to be in place for the general election in November.
Aguilar, a Democrat who won office in 2022, made some points of his own in Friday’s letter.
“The most important thing in election administration is skilled, dedicated workers. The second most important thing in election administration is consistent, strategic funding. The federal government’s history of funding elections in fits and starts is not in the best interest of the taxpayers. Elections are critical infrastructure, they are how our citizenry makes their voices heard, and their security is of paramount importance. When local election officials bring you their very real concerns around resources available for elections, ‘Congress doesn’t have extra money lying around right now’ is not an appropriate response,” he wrote.
Read the full letter below:
Rep.-Steil-Letter-3.22Download
In addition to funding, he said federal officials should address harassment against election officials.
“I work closely with the elected clerks and appointed registrars across the state of Nevada. In addition to being under-resourced, these election administrators are frequently made the targets of harassment. Addressing these threats has been a priority of mine since day one; I’m proud that we were able to pass a bipartisan bill during the 2023 Nevada legislative session to increase protections for election workers. I hope that Congress will follow Nevada’s lead.”
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.
