Election security key issue in Nevada secretary of state race
CARSON CITY — Elections for secretary of state carry more weight nationally these days amid heightened concern over ballot integrity, voter identification and the sometimes controversial methods officials have employed to safeguard both. This year’s Nevada race is no exception.
Secretaries of state typically serve as a state’s chief elections official. In Nevada, both Barbara Cegavske, a Las Vegas Republican seeking her second term, and challenger Nelson Araujo, a second-term Democratic Las Vegas assemblyman, have made protecting the ballot a main issue in the race.
That’s with good reason: A poll conducted by the University of Chicago and the Associated Press, released last week, found widespread lack of confidence among American voters in the security and accuracy of their voting systems. But in a 180-degree shift from 2016, Republicans this year are more likely than Democrats to trust the accuracy of returns.
Both Cegavske and Araujo focused on election security in their responses to questions in the Review-Journal voter guide. Both talk about keeping elections safe from potential cyberthreats and upgrading ballot security with new technology.
Cegavske, aligning with a frequent Republican refrain, has been identified with efforts fighting voter fraud and toughening voter ID rules.
“I personally have no problem showing my ID when I go to vote. I don’t know why anybody would think it’s an issue,” she said Wednesday, noting that showing ID is standard in everything from banking transactions to boarding a commercial airplane.
Araujo makes the customary Democratic case for expanding ballot access.
“I’m more concerned about making sure that we are opening opportunities for all of our communities to participate in democracy,” he said Monday. “And that means increasing access to the ballot box by implementing same-day voting registration, by expanding early voting.”
Cegavske opened an investigation into possible voter fraud in April 2017, citing allegations that Department of Motor Vehicles employees gave voter registration materials to DMV customers known to be noncitizens. The DMV pushed back, and the matter is pending while the DMV undergoes a system upgrade, Cegavske said.
Last April, she announced that her office had removed 63,000 names from active-voter registration rolls as part of routine, federal- and state-mandated list maintenance. Those voters can still vote. Inactive voters remain registered for up to four years, and their status reverts to active through any contact with election officials such as turning up to vote, seeking an absentee ballot or submitting a new registration application.
New voting machines in all 17 Nevada counties saw their first action with the June 12 primary and will see the first general election next month. As of September, the state had more than 1.7 million registered voters, 1.5 million of them active.
The secretary of state’s other chief function is official state record-keeping, including business records. The office faced criticism this year for lax system safeguards that make state businesses potentially easy prey for fraud.
Cegavske’s office said at the time that its power to fight fraud in such cases is limited by state law, adding it was “disingenuous” to blame the secretary of state in such cases if interested parties don’t do proper due diligence.
Araujo, without blaming Cegavske directly, said the office had been “very stagnant” on improving security.
“There are a lot of real concerns over the system that we are currently using to attract and retain business owners here in Nevada,” he said.
Cegavske, 67, has served in state government since 1996, when she was first elected to the Nevada Assembly. She served three terms before being elected to the Senate in 2002, holding that office until 2014, when she successfully sought her current post. Besides her government service, she cites her experience as a small-business owner. She and her husband ran a convenience store for 13 years.
“I think you need somebody in this position that not only has the legislative background that I do but also has a small-business background,” she said. “I think that’s extremely important when you’re dealing with business licensing.”
Araujo, who turns 31 on Oct. 24 and is finishing his second term in the Assembly, announced his candidacy more than a year ago.
“I’ve always been passionate about this office in general,” he said. “What inspired me to run is the fact that in the Legislature I found myself constantly making sure that we’re fighting to protect small businesses and also making sure that were increasing access to the ballot box.”
Araujo has significantly outraised Cegavske in campaign contributions and slightly outspent her. Finance disclosures submitted by the candidates Tuesday show Araujo raised almost $321,000 since June for a total of just under $518,000, and has spent approximately $292,000.
Cegavske raised almost $157,000 for the race since June for a total of just over $225,000. She has spent more than she has raised in this election cycle, approximately $279,000.
Governing magazine, in an assessment of this year’s secretary of state contests across the country, rated the Nevada contest a toss-up.
Contact Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-0661. Follow @Dentzernews on Twitter.
