RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Nevada’s Presidential Primary was the first since the late 90s.
Times have changed since then. With mail-in balloting, early voting, and in person voting there were plenty of ways to cast a vote albeit with a limited selection.
And there was one other major change to respond to the times. It is now a felony to threaten or intimidate an elections worker.
“I did spend a lot of time during early vote and election day, visiting elections centers,” says Cisco Aguilar Nevada’s Secretary of State. “Talking to the poll workers and making sure they understood how important they are to this process.”
Secretary Aguilar says there were no major events in terms of intimidation or threats at election sites. Any minor issues he says were handled there.
He hopes the new law sends a message that election workers can do their job in a safe environment.
Earlier this year Aguilar was informed of what could be vulnerable area in the Washoe County Complex. An area of the parking lot where election workers park and make their way into the registrar’s office.
Aguilar says there was a fix for that.
“Staff raised a concern,” says Aguilar. “We had a conversation with them. We thought hey this is an opportunity for us to show support let’s invest in what they need.”
A federal Homeland Security Grant helped pay for this camera system for more security coverage.
Aguilar says if current election workers tell others and encourage them to implement the most democratic process there is, they will then help others participate in that process as well.
Secretary Aguilar hopes this latest security measure will send a message to potential poll workers the state has their safety in mind.
As a matter of fact, the registrar of voters here in Washoe County is looking for elections workers especially those who are bilingual.
For more information on becoming an election worker go to: https://www.washoecounty.gov/voters/get-involved/election_workers/index.php
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