FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 5, 2020
Contact: Will Pregman, [email protected], 702.752.0656
Statement on Clark County Registrar’s decision to expand voting access in the 2020 primary
LAS VEGAS, NV – Today, the Nevada State Democratic Party, and other plaintiffs, withdrew from their preliminary injunction against Secretary of State, Barbara Cegavske, after the Clark County Registrar, Joe Gloria, agreed to several measures satisfying grievances raised by the lawsuit. Clark County, for the primary election only, has now agreed to send ballots to all registered voters which includes inactive voters, establishing additional vote centers for in-person voting, stronger protections preventing ballots from being discarded for minor signature mismatches, and deputizing individuals to be authorized to collect and deliver ballots to official drop-off locations.
Annette Magnus, Executive Director of Battle Born Progress, said:
“This announcement is a tremendous win for protecting Nevadans’ right to vote. We’ve held firm that not mailing ballots to all eligible voters and designating only one vote center per county would have disenfranchised countless voters, particularly among communities of color. The measures that the Registrar is implementing for the primary will help prevent this from happening, by not discriminating against voters labeled as inactive, creating more in-person voting options, more thorough procedures taken before rejecting a ballot, and allowing deputies to collect ballots and return them safely. We thank the Clark County Commission and Registrar, Joe Gloria, for understanding the necessity for these measures and taking the bold steps to enact them.
We intend to continue holding Secretary Cegavske accountable for running a safe, secure, and accessible primary election and general election. It’s also now incumbent upon other County registrars to follow the best practices set by Clark County. With an uncertain future ahead for how COVID-19 will impact Nevada in upcoming months, we must anticipate the possibility that the pandemic will play a role in the general election as well. These steps are a promising start but we will need more in-person options for the general election. We will keep fighting to expand voting accessibility both in Clark County, and statewide. Secretary Cegavske should ensure that proper measures are taken between then and now to avoid disenfranchising voters with arbitrary limits on their ability to exercise their right to vote.”
SPOKESPEOPLE ARE AVAILABLE FOR COMMENT IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH
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