Carson City, NV — Nevada Attorney General Aaron D. Ford and Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar have announced a legal victory concerning the protection of election officials. A lawsuit aimed at overturning the Election Worker Protection Act, known as Senate Bill 406 (SB406), has been dismissed. This act was passed unanimously by the Nevada legislature and signed into law in 2023, aiming to safeguard election officials from various forms of undue influence and harm.
Attorney General Ford expressed satisfaction with the court’s decision: “I am pleased with the decision from the court and am relieved that these critical protections for our election officials will remain in place.” He emphasized the importance of protecting those responsible for crucial democratic operations.
Secretary Aguilar also voiced his commitment to defending election workers: “I will always fight to protect election workers – they are the unsung heroes of our democracy. No one should be harassed or intimidated for supporting our democratic process.”
The dismissal occurred on April 7, 2025, when the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that plaintiffs lacked standing. Previously, a similar ruling was made by the United States District Court, District of Nevada.
The case titled Vanness v. Aguilar involved Secretary Aguilar and Governor Joe Lombardo as defendants. Plaintiffs Alexandrea Slack, Susan Vanness, Martin Waldman, and Robert Beadles were represented by Sigal Chattah. They argued that SB406’s language criminalizing intimidation against election officials was overly broad.
However, judges found no credible threat that this law would be enforced against them nor any indication that defendants had enforcement power over SB406’s provisions.
