In response to a video posted online on August 20, 2016, and numerous related complaints alleging voter registration fraud in Las Vegas by an employee of the Nevada State Democratic Party, Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske issues the following statement:
The Nevada Secretary of State’s office considers all allegations of fraud or other unlawful behavior related to elections as serious issues. It is paramount that all parts of the election process, including voter registration, be administered fairly and in accordance with applicable state laws. All credible allegations concerning violations of Nevada election laws are pursued and if substantiated, civil and/or criminal penalties are sought. Complaints concerning alleged violations of Nevada election law can be submitted to the Secretary of State’s office using the form found here.
On Sunday, August 21, 2016, the Secretary of State’s Elections Division began receiving numerous emails and phone calls related to a video posted on YouTube. Statements made by the person who shot the video and made in related complaints allege that the person in the video is violating Nevada election law by registering people to vote in Las Vegas while publicly displaying opposition to Donald Trump, Republican candidate for President of the United States. The allegation is made multiple times in the video that a person registering people to vote in Nevada must present themselves as nonpartisan.
Nevada law (NRS 293.5045 and 293.505) prohibits a person working for a voter registration agency from displaying political preference, distributing campaign material, or otherwise conducting themselves in a partisan manner while providing voter registration opportunities to the public. These prohibitions apply generally to employees of a voter registration agency (such as the Department of Motor Vehicles), appointed field registrars, and local election officials. There is no evidence that the person in the video is employed by one of these defined groups. In fact, the video does not show any voter registration activity taking place; it merely shows a conversation between two or more individuals in what appears to be a shopping center parking lot.
Federal courts have ruled numerous times that voter registration activity is core political speech that is protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and that those conducting voter registration drives have the right to select what they believe to be the most effective means of conducting the drives.
Based on the video and the relevant statutes, there is not sufficient evidence of a violation of Nevada election law to warrant further investigation by this office.