Nevada's top election official has been hit with seven subpoenas from the US Justice Department seeking voter data, a federal pressure campaign that is shaping a high-stakes rematch for his job in one of November's key battleground states, Reuters reported on October 15.
Cisco Aguilar, the Democratic secretary of state, received the first subpoena in June, when his office had been working informally with the FBI on routine election security. Three more seeking voter data arrived on September 1 and 2. In total, seven subpoenas were delivered to his office between June 16 and September 2, according to a public records request cited by Reuters.
The pressure escalated after President Donald Trump claimed in a July 16 Oval Office address, without evidence, that hundreds of thousands of noncitizens had registered to vote. An administration review cited Nevada — which swung toward Trump in 2024 by 46,000 votes — as one of four states where noncitizen voter registration was widespread. "We're going to be the target of this," Aguilar recalled telling Republican Governor Joe Lombardo before the address.
A rematch under a federal spotlight
Aguilar is seeking reelection against Republican Jim Marchant, who falsely claims the 2020 election was rigged to favor Democrats and whom Aguilar narrowly beat in 2022. Reuters notes that Marchant's claims about election fraud are made without evidence. Lombardo has not endorsed either candidate.
The White House says the administration's goal is to safeguard election integrity and voting security. A Justice Department spokesperson said the agency does not confirm or comment on grand jury subpoenas and declined to address Aguilar's assertions about political motivation. Aguilar has called the subpoena flood a deliberate attempt to weaken his reelection bid and influence who oversees Nevada's ballots in the 2028 presidential election.
Conflicting claims over noncitizen voters
The Department of Homeland Security has claimed as many as 16,000 noncitizens are on Nevada's rolls, an effort Aguilar says is designed to intimidate Latino voters — roughly 30 per cent of Nevada's voter base. In meetings, DHS officials told Nevada election officials they had confirmed only 185 such cases, according to emails and a video seen by Reuters. Nevada officials said their records indicated all 185 were citizens. DHS later said it had found that at least 2,000 names on the initial list were those of noncitizens, but Aguilar said the agency had not provided credible evidence.
Separately, Reuters reported that the Justice Department has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to provide voter data and has lost 26 of those cases, including against Nevada. More than 50 election officials and law experts told Reuters this week they see multiple ways the administration could potentially interfere with the midterms, from election-fraud claims to seizures of election materials.
Sources:
Reuters: Seven subpoenas engulf Nevada election chief in key midterm battle
Cisco Aguilar, the Democratic secretary of state, received the first subpoena in June, when his office had been working informally with the FBI on routine election security. Three more seeking voter data arrived on September 1 and 2. In total, seven subpoenas were delivered to his office between June 16 and September 2, according to a public records request cited by Reuters.
The pressure escalated after President Donald Trump claimed in a July 16 Oval Office address, without evidence, that hundreds of thousands of noncitizens had registered to vote. An administration review cited Nevada — which swung toward Trump in 2024 by 46,000 votes — as one of four states where noncitizen voter registration was widespread. "We're going to be the target of this," Aguilar recalled telling Republican Governor Joe Lombardo before the address.
A rematch under a federal spotlight
Aguilar is seeking reelection against Republican Jim Marchant, who falsely claims the 2020 election was rigged to favor Democrats and whom Aguilar narrowly beat in 2022. Reuters notes that Marchant's claims about election fraud are made without evidence. Lombardo has not endorsed either candidate.
The White House says the administration's goal is to safeguard election integrity and voting security. A Justice Department spokesperson said the agency does not confirm or comment on grand jury subpoenas and declined to address Aguilar's assertions about political motivation. Aguilar has called the subpoena flood a deliberate attempt to weaken his reelection bid and influence who oversees Nevada's ballots in the 2028 presidential election.
Conflicting claims over noncitizen voters
The Department of Homeland Security has claimed as many as 16,000 noncitizens are on Nevada's rolls, an effort Aguilar says is designed to intimidate Latino voters — roughly 30 per cent of Nevada's voter base. In meetings, DHS officials told Nevada election officials they had confirmed only 185 such cases, according to emails and a video seen by Reuters. Nevada officials said their records indicated all 185 were citizens. DHS later said it had found that at least 2,000 names on the initial list were those of noncitizens, but Aguilar said the agency had not provided credible evidence.
Separately, Reuters reported that the Justice Department has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to provide voter data and has lost 26 of those cases, including against Nevada. More than 50 election officials and law experts told Reuters this week they see multiple ways the administration could potentially interfere with the midterms, from election-fraud claims to seizures of election materials.
Sources:
Reuters: Seven subpoenas engulf Nevada election chief in key midterm battle
