LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Nevada state leaders gathered in Las Vegas to address election security and a new executive order from President Donald Trump that would change how voter rolls and mail-in ballots are handled.
The president signed the order earlier this week. It directs the Department of Homeland Security to build a nationwide list of verified, eligible voters. The order would also require states to limit mail ballots to people on their approved voter lists and would restrict the U.S. Postal Service from sending absentee ballots more broadly.
The president has defended the order as a step to protect ‘voter integrity’ and says it will help ensure only eligible voters cast ballots.
Nevada, along with more than 20 other states, has filed a lawsuit challenging the order. The states argue it intrudes on state authority over elections and does not provide funding for new requirements.
READ MORE: Nevada’s top election officials to challenge Trump executive order on elections
State response
“When this came out, I immediately said, we are going to file suit. Nevada is going to lead that suit because it impacts Nevada more than any other state,” said Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar.
Aguilar said Nevada runs some of the safest, most secure and most accessible elections in the country, and the worst outcome would be intimidation of voters and creating chaos and confusion.
“If a voter doesn’t truly understand the rules of the game, they will self-select out of participating,” Aguilar said. “And that’s the most dangerous thing.”
He said election leaders must anticipate situations such as federal agents at polling locations and prepare to work with local sheriffs and county leadership. He said officials are also considering how to use the legal system to get an injunction to prevent federal officials from being at polling locations.
Impact on Nevada
Aguilar said the executive order is an unfunded mandate. He said nowhere in the executive order or the SAVE Act does it explain how it will fund local counties or election administrators to implement policy changes.
“It’s a solution to a problem that does not exist,” Aguilar said.
He said Nevada loses 30% of its voter base from election cycle to election cycle, making it more important to ensure voter rolls are accurate and up to date. He said recent challenges to voter rolls in Washoe County showed that 95% of flagged voters were already in the process of voter roll maintenance guided by state and federal law.
Aguilar said non-citizens cannot vote in Nevada, and only eligible voters can participate.
Preparations for elections
Aguilar said counties need to increase capacity to process mail ballots. He said in 2024, counties had 98% of ballots in their possession on election night and were able to process 90% of those.
He said less than 1.8% of ballots arrive after election day in Nevada, and 95% of that 1.8% are in the possession of the local county within 24 hours.
Aguilar said the U.S. Postal Service changed its postmarking operations and now only postmarks in the mornings. He said voters should mail their ballot early or drop it off at a ballot box.
The Secretary of State’s office is awaiting a Supreme Court decision in June on a case regarding mail-in ballots.
Copyright 2026 KVVU. All rights reserved.
