Voting rights advocates say Nevada's election ran smoothly but warn federal pressure on future elections has not gone away

What happened

Nevada voting rights groups said this week that Election Day went smoothly across the state, the Las Vegas Sun reported. At a Thursday, Nov. 5, press conference at Silver State Voices, representatives also warned that pressure from the federal government on elections could return in future cycles.

"We want to keep elections boring, and that's really what we saw on Tuesday," Kerry Durmick, Nevada state director of All Voting is Local, told the Sun. For more on the results themselves, see our Nevada midterm takeaways.

Groups prepared for federal agents at the polls

Representatives from Silver State Voices, the Institute for a Progressive Nevada, the ACLU of Nevada and All Voting is Local said they planned for the possibility of federal agents showing up at polling places. According to the Sun, Silver State Voices deployed the largest number of nonpartisan poll monitors in its history.

Mixed signals on ICE

In February, a Department of Homeland Security official told state election officials there would be no Immigration and Customs Enforcement presence at polling locations in November, the Sun reported. In September, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said ICE could appear at polling places to serve a warrant or respond to a specific threat.

FBI left the door open

FBI Director Kash Patel told the Senate Judiciary Committee in September that agents and intelligence analysts would work on election security from FBI field offices. He did not rule out sending agents to polling places on Election Day if a law was broken, according to the Sun.

Justice Department monitors in Clark County

The Justice Department said it deployed about 1,000 monitors in all 50 states on Election Day, including Clark County, the first time it has done so. ACLU of Nevada Executive Director Athar Haseebullah said department monitors went to at least five voting sites. "By and large, they came, and they observed, and they left," he said, adding that he expects the threat to remain.

Court order at Desert Breeze Community Center

During early voting, observers reported and recorded a woman nicknamed "Bullhorn Becky" at Desert Breeze Community Center, the Sun reported. According to the ACLU, she was videotaped thrusting a bullhorn into a voter's face.

Using the observers' work, the ACLU obtained a temporary restraining order from a Clark County judge. The order designated the narrow pathway into the polling place as its entrance and barred electioneering within 100 feet of it, to keep voters from being followed and berated.

Haseebullah said that to his knowledge it was the only voter intimidation lawsuit of its kind filed in the country this year. He said Metro Police and the secretary of state's office will investigate and that civil action will be taken against the woman. No criminal charges were described in the Sun's report.

How advocates rated the election

Haseebullah praised the secretary of state's handling of the election overall. He told the Sun he had not heard of any voter being turned away and unable to cast a ballot on election night, which he called the most important consideration.

He still cautioned against reading the quiet cycle as the end of the issue. "I don't think the threats from the federal government have ceased because they didn't act on most of them this cycle," he said.

Where the count stands

Durmick said mail-in ballots are still being counted and the election has not been certified. Under the timeline described in the Sun's report, counties must certify results by Friday, and the Nevada Supreme Court must canvass statewide results Nov. 24. The governor then issues certificates of election. Follow ongoing coverage in our elections section.

What to watch next

• Counting of remaining mail-in ballots, with county certification due by Friday, according to the Sun.
• The Nevada Supreme Court's canvass of statewide results on Nov. 24, followed by certificates of election from the governor.
• Investigations by Metro Police and the secretary of state's office into the Desert Breeze incident, and the planned civil action against the woman involved.
• Whether federal agencies send agents or monitors to Nevada polling places in future elections, which advocates say remains a concern.