Suspect double voting in Nevada? The state will investigate

The Nevada secretary of state’s office conducted nearly 150 investigations into claims of double voting in the 2022 election and six claims in the recent presidential primary, according to its first quarterly report released as part of its efforts to increase transparency and improve confidence in the Silver State’s elections.

“There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Nevada, at any point in our state’s history,” Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said in a statement. “That has not stopped the Secretary of State’s Office from receiving a major increase in questions about election fraud and integrity.”

Nevada has been a hot spot for unfounded claims of mass election fraud since the 2020 election. Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans pointed to Nevada — where President Joe Biden won with more than 30,000 votes — as one of the battleground states they claim was stolen from the former president.

Then-Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske and her staff spent more than 100 hours investigating claims that the 2020 election was stolen but found no evidence to support claims of widespread fraud, and Nevada courts dismissed lawsuits that alleged mass election fraud.

Major increase in questions of election integrity

Since 2020, the secretary of state’s office has seen a significant increase in questions about election fraud and integrity, according to Aguilar. In an effort to improve trust in Nevada’s election processes, Aguilar’s office has started releasing quarterly reports on how many election violation claims it investigates and the conclusions of those investigations.

“We receive a large number of reports that did not consist of any actual violation of election law,” Aguilar said in a statement Monday. “This happens for a number of reasons; from a lack of understanding of the law to attempts to overwhelm our office during an election cycle with unfounded allegations. Regardless, we take every allegation seriously and investigate them to the full extent of the law.”

Since 2020, 14 cases were referred to outside agencies for possible prosecutions, including nine in the 2020 election and five in the 2022 election.

The secretary of state’s office investigated six cases of reported elections violations from the 2024 presidential primary, two of which remain open. The other four cases were closed with no violation found, according to the report.

146 investigations in 2022

During the 2022 general election, there were 146 investigations of claims that someone had voted twice or attempted to vote twice — both are felonies in Nevada. Those 146 cases represent 0.0001 percent of the more than 1 million ballots cast in the election, according to the secretary of state’s office.

Of those cases, 44 were referred for investigation to the Nevada Department of Public Safety’s Investigation Division; three were referred for prosecution to the office of the attorney general; 29 cases were investigated by their criminal team but were determined to not be criminal; and 29 were closed with no action taken.

Fifteen cases were closed after a civil notice was issued. The secretary of state’s office provided an example of a civil notice case involving a father and son with the same name who live in the same household both received a ballot. The son voted in person, and the father mistakenly filled out his son’s ballot and mailed it. The clerk noticed a double vote for the son, did not count the second ballot and alerted the secretary of state’s office, which determined the father’s mistake during the investigation. The office sent issued a civil notice, and because no intent to vote twice was found, no further action was taken, according to the secretary of state’s office. All of those civil notices are tracked to monitor potential irregularities in the future.

The secretary of state’s office also investigated 26 cases of possible cross-state voting, all of which are still open. Cases with cross-state double votes stem from collaboration with other states and agencies. The secretary of state’s office provided an example in which a Nevada voter receives a mail ballot and votes in Nevada, and then before election day moves to Arizona and votes on Election Day.

To file a complaint of potential elections law violations, visit NVSOS.gov to complete an election integrity violation report form.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.