If elected, Aguilar vows to end ‘constant harrassment’ faced by election workers

Cisco Aguilar plans to introduce a policy if he is elected secretary of state in November that aims to protect Nevada’s election workers from harassment, threats and intimidation following reports of election workers feeling threatened both in Nevada and across the country.

“The harassment that election workers have had to deal with, just for doing their jobs, is unacceptable,” Aguilar said in a statement. “There’s no excuse for the kind of conspiracy-minded rhetoric that has led to this.”

“These are our friends and neighbors, they’ve helped turn Nevada’s elections into some of the most efficient and secure in the nation, but they’re enduring constant harassment. We have to make sure law enforcement has the tools to keep election workers safe, and hold the people attacking them accountable,” Aguilar said in the statement.

Aguilar, a Democrat, will face Republican Jim Marchant in November in the race for secretary of state. Marchant’s campaign did not return multiple requests for comment and did not answer questions about whether Marchant would propose anything similar if he is elected.

The Protecting Nevada’s Election Workers Policy will clarify existing law around intimidation and harassment at polling places to “make clear that election workers are protected as well,” Aguilar’s campaign said in a statement. It will also expand “unlawful interference with conduct of election” to include interference that takes place in areas like election offices and staging locations.

The policy would also allow election workers to exempt their personal information from public records requests and include penalties for anyone distributing election workers’ information with the intent to intimidate or harass, according to the statement.

Washoe County Registrar of Voters Deanna Spikula resigned in June due to threats she received from election deniers, and last year the Brennan Center for Justice commissioned a survey that found one in three election officials feel unsafe because of their job. A former poll worker in Georgia also testified before the Jan. 6 committee in June about death threats she received after former President Donald Trump singled her out in his conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on Twitter.