Election Integrity Victory: RNC Gains Access to Clark County, Nevada, Poll Worker Data Ahead of Competitive Midterms

The Republican National Committee (RNC) has gained access to the partisan breakdown of hired poll workers in Clark County, Nevada, after filing a lawsuit against officials for denying public records requests. 

Clark County officials reportedly agreed on Oct. 5 to regularly share updates on their poll worker breakdown rather than a one-time disclosure, which the RNC said “exceeds [its] original requests for information.” The win for election transparency comes ahead of several close, high-stakes elections in the Silver State, including the U.S. Senate race between Adam Laxalt and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) and the gubernatorial race between Gov. Steve Sisolak (D) and Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo. Clark County notably includes Las Vegas and accounts for roughly 70 percent of the state’s population. 

“This is a crucial victory for election integrity and Nevada voters. Nevadans can rest assured that their elections are being conducted transparently and that both parties are equally represented in the poll working process. This is a significant milestone in the RNC and Nevada GOP’s ongoing fight to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections in the Silver State,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Breitbart News.

According to the RNC, the committee tried “working in good faith” with Clark County officials for weeks to get a breakdown of hired poll workers to ensure bipartisan representation as required by Nevada law. The county allegedly claimed the release of such information could lead to threat or violence against poll workers. As a compromise, the RNC stipulated that the record would remain confidential and subject to “attorneys-eyes only,” but “the county still refused.”

As a result, the RNC in partnership with the NVGOP filed a lawsuit against Clark County on Sept. 20, accusing the county of  “frustrat[ing] the public’s interests in open government and in ensuring a fair, transparent, and controversy-free election.” The RNC told Breitbart News that Clark County began releasing some of the records within 24 hours of filing the lawsuit. 

The RNC will now have access to “the scheduled roster for all early voting and general election polling locations in Clark County, including manual signature verification and counting board teams. The roster will include the political party affiliation and job title/task assignment for all poll workers at each polling location.” The identities of the poll workers are not included. The RNC said the information will allow the committee to regularly monitor whether the county is fulfilling its obligations to ensure equal party representation.

Though the RNC is receiving what it requested, the lawsuit is not settled. The case is stayed until Dec. 23, which will allow the RNC to continue litigation if officials do not abide by their agreement.