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Nevada Election Observers: Rules and Constraints

This resource details state and federal laws that govern who can be an election observer, what they can do, and how election workers can oversee them.

Last Updated: October 1, 2024
Published: June 26, 2024
View the entire Election Observers Rules and Constraints series

Written and Published in Partnership with All Voting is Local.

Election observers, referred to as “polling place observers” in Nevada, are individuals who monitor polling places and ballot counting sites. While election observers play an important role in providing transparency, they can also be a potential source of disruption and intimidation. For this reason, all states have a series of regulations and constraints regarding who can serve as election observers and what they can do. Nevada’s rules on observers, which derive both from the state’s election statutes and from its administrative code, are:

Appointment

Role of Observers

  • The chair of the election board may designate an area at the polling place in which observers must remain while watching the election, provided that the area allows meaningful observation without infringing on the privacy and confidentiality of voters’ ballots.footnote5_iF2x-0N0pdEEEhBkiV1jGyUT-MyLfI7urgFy3v3EgM_w5sMx988aszK5Nev. Admin. Code § 293.245(6).
  • Meaningful observation includes observing the identification of voters who appear at the polling place, the distribution of ballots to voters, the movement of voters to and from voting booths, the return of voters’ ballots to election board officials, and the exiting of the polling place by voters.footnote6_61y8KDZ8MmiGy0iuHQez2q-aPp-YEyZ64P-efotgISY_vr3DhU85GwhU6Nev. Admin. Code §§ 293.245(6), (9)(b).
  • Observers may watch the closing of the polling place and the handling and counting of ballots as long as they do not interfere with the process.footnote7_sB3Wcs352IYsDzeyqYPYAdSfZmMRS9wPEFhxvvgBTjk_xTmkB82ndBxx7Nev. Admin. Code § 293.245(5); Nev. Rev. Stat. §§ 293B.330(4), 293C.630(4).
  • Observers may watch the processing and counting of ballots at the central counting place as long as they do not interfere with the process.footnote8_TVs91BCQm4Y0MD3oRx-aBXf4-gS166mxYKMxqATbDIs_mLbWIeivSTIh8Nev. Rev. Stat. § 293B.353(1).
  • The county or city clerk may designate an area at the central ballot counting place in which observers should remain while watching the election, provided that the area allows meaningful observation without infringing on the privacy and confidentiality of voters’ ballots.footnote9_u9dy7doCive1EVPw0V12GtoCVipjZLlSImrcrEqw6Q_bHgv4kFJzgTq9Nev. Admin. Code § 293.356(4).

Prohibited Activities

Federal and state law strictly prohibit all people, including observers, from engaging in voter intimidation. Any action that makes a voter feel intimidated, threatened, or coerced (including any effort to prevent a voter from registering to vote, voting, or voting for or against any candidate or ballot measure) could constitute voter intimidation, regardless of whether it breaks a specific rule.footnote23_cZpayQC5WK6ylmVtvi8C4p5IrzsZeEebO06Lq7y1LMI_pItZcOqaPHXX2318 U.S.C. §§ 241, 594; 52 U.S.C. § 10101(b).More information on the federal and state laws that protect Nevada voters from intimidation can be found here.

Removal

  • Under Nevada law, city and county clerks have discretion to remove from a polling place or central ballot counting place any observer who violates Nevada’s election statutes or engages in any conduct forbidden under Nevada’s administrative code.footnote24_KImx6F5VXSftlNKxMaXU5I3Q8KzI1E5FOGf1P2BGA_pmlOEIf68tox24Nev. Admin. Code §§ 293.245(3)(b), 293.356(2)(b).
  • City and county clerks may also remove law-abiding observers to limit the number of people at polling places and central ballot counting places, to maintain public safety, voter privacy, or general order.footnote25_kF3ShV2WqRkzImbaa0XitaY6BrShJPHh2Y-xw8FdvMc_s5JcsMq5BEa725Nev. Admin. Code §§ 293.245(3)(a), 293.356(3)(a).

End Notes