This post has been updated with comments and an update from the counsel of the Nevada GOP Brian Hardy. 

In a press release, Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar (D) revealed that he will work with Governor Joe Lombardo (R) and state lawmakers to improve Nevada’s election laws during the next legislative session and in time for the 2026 midterm election. Aguilar also highlights “the successes and significant turnout” of the 2024 election.

“I would like to thank voters across Nevada for making the 2024 general election such a success. For years I’ve been saying Nevada runs some of the most secure, transparent, and accessible elections in the country, and our whole state came together to show how true that is,” said Secretary Aguilar. “None of this would be possible without the tireless work of our election administrators across Nevada. Whether they are engaged year-round in preparing and executing the election, or whether they were a poll worker on election day; election workers are truly the unsung heroes of democracy and we can’t thank them enough.”

Secretary Aguilar continued, “We know that everything wasn’t perfect, and there’s always more that can be done. That’s why my Office is already hard at work preparing for the 2025 legislative session to partner with the Governor and lawmakers to improve Nevada’s election-related statutes in time for the 2026 election cycle.”

In an interview with Channel 4 on November 7, Aguilar said counting mail ballots was “extremely frustrating” and suggested that the legislature should pass new deadlines for counties to process the ballots they have on hand. “It’s extremely frustrating. And I’m just as frustrated as every Nevada voter out there. We worked significantly hard to put results out on election night. You know, we thought the capacity was there to be able to process these ballots,” he said. “We will be having a conversation about this. Nevadans deserve better.”

On November 6, Governor Lombardo expressed his shared frustration on social media:

During the last legislative session, Lombardo’s election integrity legislation included: photo identification to vote; the last four digits of a social security or driver’s license number on the mailed ballot verified by the county clerk; mail ballots by request, thereby eliminating the voter’s existing requirement to opt-out; mailed ballots must be received at the close of business on Election Day, instead of four days after election day; and, eliminates unlimited ballot harvesting by an unauthorized ballot harvester. The Governor’s proposal limits ballot collection to 30 ballots and the harvester must submit an affidavit and report to the Secretary of State’s office.

For background, in 2021 under the guise of the pandemic, Democratic lawmakers ushered in sweeping changes to Nevada’s election laws without a single Republican vote. The legislation legalized unlimited ballot harvesting, mail ballots to all actively registered voters, and extended deadlines for mail ballots that have and do not have legible postmarks.

The press release features the implementation of the new voter registration and election management system (VERS), “Party to the Polls” events with Lil Jon and Diplo, and provides the following data:

• Voter registration and turnout
  • Nevada’s active registered voters: 2,042,607
  • The final number of voters who cast a ballot was 1,487,887, a record number of ballots cast in Nevada this year, for a total turnout of 72.84%.
    • 45% by Mail Ballot
    • 37% during Early Voting and
    • 18% voting on Election Day.
  • Youth turnout was also up in Nevada, both in comparison to 2020 and to the 2024 youth turnout average nationwide. The national average for young voters (18-29) was 42% (+/-1%), but Nevada blew past that with a 57.2% youth turnout.
  • For the 2024 General Election, 90% of the total results were released on Election Night.

“The SOS Office will continue looking at additional measures with the counties to publish election results sooner,” Aguilar notes.

Using the SOS data, approximately 150,000 ballots were received and processed after Election Day and unlike the ballots counted by Election Day, the post-election ballots broke resoundingly for Democrats. The Globe has requested the most current data to compare Election Day and post- Election Day outcomes.

Days after the statutory deadline for counting mail ballots, on November 14, Clark County announced they “found” 1,608 ballots and tabulated the ballots without proper observation. The Nevada GOP has demanded a recount.

The SOS also notes that voter roll maintenance will occur between December 2024 and February 2025. The last maintenance occurred 90 days prior and up to August 7, 2024. In that period, Aguilar reports, “Nevada election officials sent out a total of 185,644 NVRA notices statewide and inactivated at least 138,267 registrations.”

However, as Washoe County Commissioner Mike Clark uncovered, the registrar’s office did not inactivate nearly 29,000 voters in the bellwether county and nearly 21,000 ballots were returned to the county as undeliverable. The majority of Washoe County commissioners certified the 2024 election in a 3-1 vote, with Commissioner Mike Clark citing a conflict of interest as reason he would abstain from voting. 

The Globe will continue to provide updates on the 2024 election from county and state officials. The Nevada Supreme Court will certify the election on November 26, and the Electoral College will meet on December 17.

Update, 5;32 PM: Brian Hardy told the Globe that, thus far, Clark County has denied the Nevada GOP’s request for an observed recount.