Republican Nominee Jim Marchant Wants to Overhaul Nevada’s Voting System — Here’s What He’s Proposing

Jim Marchant, the Republican nominee for Nevada secretary of state in the 2026 general election, openly rejects the legitimacy of recent U.S. elections and is campaigning to fundamentally remake Nevada’s election system. The office he seeks oversees business licensing and elections, and Marchant says he would use the post to restore public confidence in voting by instituting sweeping procedural changes.

What Marchant Proposes

Marchant’s campaign platform calls for several dramatic reforms that he says are needed to secure Nevada’s elections:

• All-New Voter Rolls: Purge the entire voter registration database and require every voter to re-register under “full oversight by the secretary of state,” per his campaign website.
• Paper Ballots Only: Eliminate electronic voting machines and return to paper ballots.
• Hand Counting: Require all ballots to be counted by hand rather than by machine.
• Strict Voter ID: Require photo identification to vote, including documentation of citizenship, according to his platform.
• Mail-Ballot Changes: End automatically mailing ballots to every registered voter and make mail ballots available only to those who opt in.

Campaign Context and Dynamics

Marchant presents himself as an outsider who has little backing from party establishment figures and major donors. According to recent finance filings cited in reporting, incumbent Democrat Cisco Aguilar had just over $1 million in his campaign account; the filings for Marchant showed a much smaller total. (Note: the original report contained an apparent typo about Marchant’s balance; context indicates it is a comparatively small amount.)

Marchant argues the fundraising gap does not determine outcomes and points to his primary victory over Shirley Folkins-Roberts despite being heavily outspent. He and some local party leaders say rank-and-file Republicans back his election-integrity message even if establishment donors have held back.

Claims, Evidence and Official Responses

Marchant says he has collected documents and other materials that he believes demonstrate widespread problems in past elections. He has allied with controversial figures who have challenged election administration, and he has repeated claims — including an unverified statement about hiring programmers from Venezuela — that voting machines can be manipulated.

State election officials and independent reviews offer a different view. Incumbent Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar has defended Nevada’s processes, saying the state runs secure and accessible elections. The Nevada Secretary of State’s office previously examined nearly 123,000 records and logged 125 staff hours investigating 2020 election fraud claims and concluded there was no evidentiary support for widespread fraud. Independent measures of election administration also score Nevada highly: MIT’s Election Performance Index ranked Nevada second in the nation for 2024.

Legal, Administrative and Political Hurdles

Marchant says he will explore legal avenues to limit or eliminate voting machines, citing statutory language that the secretary of state "may" use machines rather than "shall." Legal experts and election administrators note that many of his proposals would face statutory, administrative and logistical challenges, and some changes could be subject to litigation or require legislative action.

Outlook

Marchant’s prospects hinge on several factors: whether broader Republican election-policy efforts (such as restricting mail ballots or tightening voter ID rules) gain traction, whether he can expand donor and institutional support, and how persuasive voters find his arguments about risk and remedies. Aguilar’s incumbency, stronger fundraising and favorable independent assessments of Nevada’s elections present substantial obstacles to the proposed overhaul.

Reporting on this story was adapted from the Reno Gazette Journal; boilerplate and reporter contact details were removed.

Former Proud Boys leader Enrique Tarrio (C) shakes hands with a demonstrator during a Jan. 6th memorial march marking five years since the attack on Jan. 6, 2026 in Washington, DC. Today marks the fifth anniversary of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol Building by Donald Trump supporters who claimed the presidential election had been stolen.(Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)

Edward Young holds a "MAGA FOREVER" sign during a Jan. 6th memorial march marking five years since the attack on Jan. 6, 2026 in Washington, DC.(Win McNamee, Getty Images)

People gather ahead of a march from The Ellipse to the U.S. Capitol in memory of those who died on, or in the aftermath, of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, on the fifth anniversary of the attack in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2026.(Leah Millis, REUTERS)

Counter-protester Patricia Eguino (R) clashes with demonstrators during a Jan. 6th memorial march marking five years since the attack on Jan. 6, 2026 in Washington, DC.(Win McNamee, Getty Images)

People hold a sign during a Jan. 6th memorial march marking five years since the attack on Jan. 6, 2026 in Washington, DC.(Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images)

A man wears a MAGA hat as people gather ahead of a march from The Ellipse to the U.S. Capitol in memory of those who died on, or in the aftermath, of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol, on the fifth anniversary of the attack in Washington, D.C., Jan. 6, 2026.(Leah Millis, REUTERS)

Jim Marchant participates in a debate for Republican candidates for U.S. Senate in a ballroom at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa in Reno on Jan. 18, 2024.

Jim Marchant speaks on a livestream during an election integrity event at the Atlantis casino in 2021.

Jim Marchant poses with President Donald Trump.