Governor Joe Lombardo’s campaign has released its list of endorsed candidates for November. It covers lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, and controller. It covers Congress, the State Senate, the Assembly, county commissions, mayors, and a district judge.
One statewide office isn’t on it: Secretary of State, the office that runs Nevada’s elections.
The blank has a history. In the Republican primary, the governor endorsed Shirley Folkins-Roberts. He pointed to her business and legal background, and to commonsense election reforms like Voter ID. Jim Marchant won the primary anyway, by about 3,000 votes. When reporters asked afterward whether the governor would endorse him, his campaign didn’t answer. The governor’s list now leaves that line empty.
I won’t speak for the governor. He can explain his own choices. But the standard he set in the primary is worth taking seriously, because it’s the right one for this office.
The standard he described
The governor said he wanted a Secretary of State with real legal experience and a practical approach to election reform. That’s the job I’ve been preparing for:
- Twenty years as a Nevada litigation paralegal. I drafted and filed Barnhill v. Aguilar in federal court myself, asking for an audit of 9,607 Nevadans with duplicate active voter registrations. I’m not alleging fraud. I’m asking the office to check the work.
- Twenty years as a computer systems analyst. Voter rolls are a data system, and I know how to find and fix bad records.
- Voter ID done right. Question 7 is on your ballot again. I’ve already written the plan to implement it so every lawful voter can comply: clear notice, help getting ID, and the same rules in every county.
If your party’s leaders won’t vouch for anyone in this race
You don’t have to leave this line blank too.
I want to end universal mail ballots. That takes a change in state law, so I’ve already drafted a bill draft request to do it. But I’m realistic: I don’t expect the Assembly to change hands, and a Secretary of State who can only promise what the Legislature might pass isn’t promising much.
So my plan doesn’t wait on the Legislature. The office already has the authority to clean up the voter rolls, enforce one standard in every county, audit the results, and implement Voter ID the right way. I’ve laid out what an independent Secretary of State can do with a Democrat-controlled Legislature, and I’ve already taken the office to federal court over 9,607 duplicate registrations to show I mean it.
I’m the Independent American Party’s candidate. I’m conservative on election integrity and practical about getting results. I’ll answer to voters, not to a party machine.
The short version
The governor endorsed a full slate and skipped one office. The office he skipped is the one that will oversee the election for his own reelection, and yours.
Nevada’s governor made his choices. Now you make yours. Read my plan for Voter ID and the standard I’ll hold my own office to.
I’ve put my plans in writing and taken the fight for clean voter rolls to federal court. Is your candidate for Nevada Secretary of State fighting this hard to protect your vote? If not, it’s time to take a closer look.
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I’m not asking you to trust a party on any of this. I’m asking you to hold the office accountable for solving real problems. That’s the job, and I intend to do it.
— Brad Lee Barnhill
Independent American Party of Nevada Candidate for Nevada Secretary of State
#YourIndependentVoice — Results, Not Noise
