Several Trump-backed initiatives, if implemented, could quickly make a mess of Nevada election procedures ahead of the midterm elections if implemented, Nevada state and federal officials warn.
Democratic state and congressional leaders this week encouraged counties to expand the number of mail-in ballot drop off boxes and bolster voter confidence in order to stave off potential Election Day chaos.
Nevada U.S. Reps. Steven Horsford and Susie Lee along with U.S. Rep. Joe Morelle of New York, the top Democrat on the House Administration Committee, joined Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar and Defend The Vote Action Fund executive director Brian Lemek to sound the alarm on election security.
Horsford is worried about the Supreme Court’s case that seeks to eliminate the grace periods for when ballots that are mailed in could be received and counted.
Nevada is one of 14 states that counts mailed ballots that arrive after Election Day as long as they have been postmarked on or before the day.
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Other looming federal actions include the SAVE Act, a Republican-backed bill that would require individuals to present documents proving their citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, to government officials in person to register to vote.
The legislation narrowly passed the House in February but doesn’t have enough votes to pass in the U.S. Senate.
Both Lee and Horsford criticized the bill for creating unneeded barriers on people’s right to vote.
They also noted other steps, such as reauthorizing the Voting Rights Act of 1965, adopted to prevent racial disinformation in voting, would go further to bolster voter protections.
Horsford noted the Voting Rights Act had for decades been routinely reauthorized with Republican support, and under Republican presidents. Some Republicans who have previously voted to reauthorize the act have since opposed the legislation.
“My biggest issue with my colleagues at this moment is this fundamental right to vote is not owned by a party. It’s owned by the people,” he said. “The people have to have certain protection under federal law.”
Aguilar characterized the SAVE Act as “an expensive policy that was developed by bureaucrats in Washington DC who have never stepped foot in local county administrations office.”
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One of the top issues driving voters is affordability issues and the high cost of living.
“Americans care about affordability,” said Brian Lemek, the executive director of Defend The Vote Action Fund.
People who don’t have documentation to update their voter registration or be in compliance with numerous federal voting rules would have to pay fees to obtain passports or new copies of birth certificates.
“It will cost you hundreds of dollars,” Lemek said, adding the measures are “a deliberate attempt to restrict the vote.”