Nevada voting rights groups say Election Day went smoothly but warn federal pressure at the polls is not over

What happened

Voting rights advocates said this week that Election Day in Nevada went off without incidents, the Las Vegas Sun reported. They spoke at a press conference at Silver State Voices on Thursday, Nov. 5, and cautioned that threats from the federal government have not gone away.

Kerry Durmick, Nevada state director for All Voting is Local, said the goal is for the voting process to stay boring, and that is what advocates saw on Tuesday, according to the Sun. Athar Haseebullah, executive director of the ACLU of Nevada, said he does not believe federal threats have ended simply because most of them were not acted on this cycle.

Representatives of Silver State Voices, the ACLU of Nevada, All Voting is Local and a progressive Nevada institute said they prepared for the possibility of federal agents at polling places. Silver State Voices sent out the largest number of nonpartisan election observers in its history, the Sun reported. More results coverage is on our elections page.

How federal agencies approached the polls

Mixed signals on ICE

In February, a Department of Homeland Security official told state election officials that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would not be present at polling places in November, the Sun reported. In September, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said ICE could appear at voting centers to carry out a court order or respond to a specific threat.

FBI kept the door open

FBI Director Kash Patel told the Senate Judiciary Committee in September that agents and intelligence analysts would handle election security from FBI field offices. According to the Sun, he left open the possibility of sending agents to voting centers on Election Day if the law were broken.

Justice Department observers in Clark County

On Election Day, the Department of Justice said it deployed about 1,000 observers across all 50 states, including Clark County, which it said was a first. Haseebullah said Justice Department observers were sent to at least five voting centers. He said that in general they arrived, watched and left, but he expects federal pressure to remain a threat going forward.

A court order at Desert Breeze

Observers documented a voter intimidation case

During early voting, observers reported and documented the conduct of a woman at the Desert Breeze Community Center, the Sun reported. Based on that work, the ACLU obtained a temporary restraining order from a Clark County judge. The order made the narrow walkway leading to the voting center its entrance and barred electioneering within 100 feet, to stop voters from being followed and insulted.

Investigation and civil action

Haseebullah said that, as he understood it, this 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 pursued against the woman. The ACLU said she was recorded on video holding a megaphone in a voter's face.

Durmick said the nonpartisan volunteers were key to spotting threats in real time and helped voters resolve problems at the polls so they could cast ballots, according to the Sun.

Counting and certification

Haseebullah praised the Secretary of State's handling of the election overall and said advocates received no reports of voters being denied access or unable to vote on election night, the Sun reported. Durmick noted that mail ballots are still being counted and the election has not been certified.

Counties must certify results by Nov. 13. The Nevada Supreme Court is scheduled to canvass the statewide results on Nov. 24, after which the governor issues certificates of election. Local turnout details are in our look at Clark County election lines and close races.

What to watch next

• Counties face a Nov. 13 deadline to certify results while mail ballots are still being counted.
• The Nevada Supreme Court is set to canvass statewide results on Nov. 24, followed by the governor issuing certificates of election.
• Metro Police and the Secretary of State's office are expected to investigate the Desert Breeze case, and the ACLU says civil action will be pursued.
• Advocates say they will stay alert to possible federal pressure at polling places in future elections.