Nevada enjoys one of the freest observation laws in the country. NRS 293.274 requires that county clerks allow “members of the general public” to observe the elections. In most states, observers must be affiliated with a candidate or a political party. But in the interest of transparency, the Nevada Legislature has written a law that allows anyone who is interested to come and observe.
Unfortunately, the Clark County Elections Department hasn’t lived up to this statutory promise. In 2022, the Clark County Elections Department was overwhelmed with mail-in ballots as a result of the passage of AB 321, which required that all voters on the active voter registration list receive a mail-in ballot. The ballots are sent out 15 days in advance and must be returned by the close of business on the Saturday after the election. To verify the identity of the voters, elections officials are required to verify the signatures of the voters returning the ballots. This process has become long, is riddled with error, and has twice in recent years caused Nevada to be the last state to report results in national elections.
During the 2022 election cycle, the Clark County Elections Department made strides toward transparency by allowing signatures that were being verified to be displayed on an overhead projector. They also worked with conservative and nonpartisan groups to improve meaningful observation.
However, it seems that these improvements in transparency have decreased in 2024. The Texas Public Policy Foundation’s (TPPF) Election Protection Project sent observers to
