Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar on Election Security

The process of counting ballots is under more scrutiny than ever with legal challenges and conspiracy theories now a regular part of the election cycle. Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar oversees our state’s electoral system and addresses questions about security.

You and your predecessors have repeatedly assured voters that our elections in Nevada are safe from widespread fraud and hacking. How can you be sure?

“Nevada runs some of the most secure, safest, and accessible elections in the country. We know this from a variety of factors — the way the process is set up, the responsibilities of the local 17 counties across the state, the responsibilities of the state, the separation of duty between voter registration management, election management, and the actual tabulation of the votes … Votes are tabulated at the local level. That is a county responsibility. That is a duty separated from the state office.

“Anybody across the state of Nevada can file an election integrity violation report. They can present the evidence. Our investigators will take that evidence. They will do their investigation and then we'll refer those cases when it rises to a criminal level to the attorney general's office for prosecution.”

Has there ever been an attempt to hack our state election system?

“Yes. We know there are foreign actors who are trying to penetrate the system. That exists not only in Nevada, but in other states, mostly battleground states, throughout the country. And that's why we are on this so diligently to ensure it doesn't happen. We know they're coming and we know when it happens, but they have not penetrated the system.”

A voter ID law is on the ballot this year. Does voter ID make elections safer than they already are?

“There are safeguards built into the system. ID is required when somebody goes to register to vote. So the ID process is already existing. However, I understand there are concerns and arguments that somebody should ID themselves at a polling location. But there are identifiers in that process as well. Signature verification is a big thing, and that's why we sent a form to every resident who is registered to vote in Nevada to update their signature. That is part of the security process.

“Nevada voters are going to decide. It's in their hands at this point. If they make the decision that's what they want, then as Secretary of State, it's my job to follow the law and implement the process, and I will do that.”