HENDERSON, Nev. — Dozens of enthusiastic Donald Trump supporters gathered in Las Vegas Monday to learn how to monitor the November vote, as Republican National Chairman Michael Whatley said the state was “absolutely critical” to the former president’s return to the White House.
“Nevada is obviously a key state across the country,” Whatley said. “We know there are seven key states that have decided 2016, 2020 and 2024. Nevada is absolutely critical among those states.”
The Republican leader spoke to reporters alongside a group of party regulars, including Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker. The politicians were there to kick off a training event for Republican poll watchers and other election workers seeking to ensure the integrity of elections.
As has been the case in other states, the actual training was held behind closed doors, a spokeswoman said.
A majority of Nevada’s nearly 2 million registered voters (one-third) are registered as nonpartisan. Democrats came in second at 29.32 percent, followed by Republicans at 28.75 percent. The remainder indicated affiliation with the American Independent Party, the state Libertarian Party or other “minor” parties.
Mail-in voting is crucial in Nevada, with Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, a Democrat, reporting that 65% of June primary ballots were submitted by mail or cast electronically by active-duty military members.
That doesn’t sit well with politicians like Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony, a Republican, who lost an earlier race in 2020 for a seat on the Clark County Commission when mail-in ballots received after Election Day erased the margin of victory he had secured.
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“I don’t like it, but that’s the way it is today,” Anthony said. “In fact, in the last election, the first time this was implemented, the voter rolls were not clean. The signature verification was 40 to 50 percent; we had no idea where these ballots were coming from.”
Anthony said the state GOP must embrace mail-in voting, but ensure it is done “legally and with integrity.”
He said the party will have lawyers ready to take legal action if there are any alleged irregularities at polling stations or by mail.
Anthony said: “We’re starting to clean up the records. We’re putting pressure on county clerks to clean up the records, look at them and get rid of the deceased people. [or] They moved out of town. They should not receive an absentee ballot.
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He also pointed to a pending ballot initiative to require ID at the polls, which is expected to be on the ballot in November. The measure has garnered 170,000 voter signatures, 50,000 more than are needed to put the issue before voters, Anthony said.
“I guarantee you it will pass,” Anthony said.
Matt Whitaker, acting U.S. attorney general under Trump, said election integrity has become a national issue.
“We cannot have a country where nearly half of our citizens do not trust the outcome of an election,” Whitaker said. “We should be able, as the world’s only superpower, to deliver free and fair elections, where the integrity of the election is something that everyone can trust.”
Along with efforts to ensure voter integrity, speakers told volunteers that the GOP’s message was resonating with voters, something Chairman McDonald emphasized to reporters Monday night.
“President Trump has clearly put forward programs for working people, for women and men, for local people, for the service sector,” he said. “The ‘no tip tax’ is a very important program. We’re working across party lines to show that if you want a better quality of life, you have to vote for Donald Trump.”
