The Republican National Committee filed a lawsuit against Clark County, Nevada, and its election department for allegedly violating public record laws after the county declined to provide information on poll workers.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in the district court for Clark County and obtained by the Washington Examiner, states that the Clark County Election Department and Joe Gloria, county registrar of votes, refused a state law allowing the committee to obtain poll workers’ names and party affiliation. Nevada law requires a bipartisan team of poll workers at all polling locations across the state, per the court document.
The RNC claims it tried to communicate with Clark County officials to provide names and party affiliations only, stating all other personal information could be redacted, but the county refused repeated requests. The lawsuit, which seeks a writ that forces the county to submit the information, is part of a larger election integrity program the committee runs with the state Republican Party, working to promote fair polling in midterm elections, RNC officials told the Washington Examiner.
SPECIAL MASTER DEALS MAJOR BLOW TO TRUMP IN RAID CASE
“The RNC has consistently tried to work with Clark County to ensure that its election officials are following Nevada law by ensuring bipartisan representation among poll workers,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “The County has refused our good-faith compromises and is hiding records that the public is legally allowed to see. Sunlight is the best disinfectant: we are suing Clark County to secure the election transparency that Nevadans deserve ahead of midterms.”
The lawsuit, spanning nearly 40 pages, details that conversations between the county and the RNC began in July to discuss topics related to the November midterm elections, one of which was partisan voting information.
“Despite the statutory requirements, Gloria declined to provide this information, expressing privacy concerns about releasing anything that would allow the RNC or the public to verify that Clark County’s poll workers will be representative of the political parties,” the lawsuit states.
The RNC claims it told the county the information would be made available to “attorneys’ eyes only” to keep the information out of the public spotlight.
However, the lawsuit states that on Aug. 17, the RNC began receiving documents from the county, referred to as “Respondents,” on a rolling basis unrelated to their request.
The county responded to the RNC’s inquiries on Aug. 31, stating the election department could not provide voter names and party affiliations due to “election security … asserted privacy interests and the risk of harassment.”
“This was Respondents’ first formal denial of the subject [Nevada Public Records Act] Request about poll worker information,” the lawsuit states.
The RNC asked for the information again on Sept. 2, but it still has not received a response, according to the lawsuit, which also asks for the court to demand the county provide an “award of reasonable costs and attorneys’ fees as provided by law, and any additional relief” deemed acceptable.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Clark County Public Information Administrator Dan Kulin wrote in a statement to the Washington Examiner on behalf of the county that it is in possession of the lawsuit and will respond through legal processes.
“Clark County takes seriously the privacy of our poll workers to protect these citizens from harassment, threats, and other forms of intimidation,” Kulin wrote. “The integrity of our election process is critical and so is ensuring that those who are working to uphold the rights of all citizens to exercise their right to vote are not threatened by others who wish to unravel our election process.”
