Information Delayed is Information Denied
(Marc Jensen) – In the fall of 2025, millions of Nevada residents received in the mail a “voter checklist” full-color postcard from the Nevada Secretary of State’s (SOS) Office offering reminders about the dates for the 2026 primary and general elections.
The postcards also encouraged residents to visit the Nevada Secretary of State’s website (NVSOS.gov) and associated webpages (VOTENV.gov) to check and update voter registration information, ensure residents had a valid Driver’s license or other identification, identify trusted sources of election information, and make a “voting plan”.
A December 16, 2025, News3 article said “the goal [of the postcard] is to make sure Nevadans receive clear, accurate and trustworthy election information directly from the officials who run the process.”
“Whether it comes to updating voter registration, finding accurate information or keeping the election dates on their fridges as a reminder going into 2026, this postcard is one way we can help ensure Nevadans receive reliable election details directly from election officials,” Aguilar said.
The postcard mailer from the SOS’s office may have been well-intentioned, but many recipients didn’t see the need for the message.
Some political pundits and many residents suspected distribution of the postcards was motivated by more than good intentions.
So, the Citizen Outreach Foundation / Pigpen Project was curious how this tax payer funded project was justified and, on December 29, 2025, they submitted a public records request to Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar.
The records request asked the SOS for:
- the full list of registrants the mailer was sent to
- a description of County Clerk and Registrar of Voters’ roles in executing the campaign
- statutory or legislative authority approving the cost of all aspects of this special mailer
- a breakdown of the costs for the postcard campaign including postcard design, printing, addressee list development, mailing, and personnel costs, plus identification of non-government funds or outside grants used to pay for the mailer
- all communication with non-government consultants being paid by his current campaign
- all documentation of post-campaign voter registration maintenance planned, and
- the business case documentation presented to justify the campaign.
On January 6, 2026, the SOS’s office formally acknowledged receipt of the records request, promising that a response would be provided by February 20, 2026. Thereafter, over a span of more than five months, the SOS sent three notices of delay in their response to the request.
Finally, 6 1/2 months after the original request, on June 17, 2026, the SOS office provided a partial response. It addressed only item #4 in the public record request.
In addition, the SOS again promised more information would be forthcoming by July 22, 2026, which was delayed twice again to September 11, 2026.
So, what did the partial response consist of?
The SOS supplied copies of two invoices from commercial vendor Fort Orange Press located in New York State and specializes in “election printing and mailing services”.
They billed the SOS a total of $566,604.58. Invoice #1: On Nov 26, 2025 they billed for mailing costs of $379,950.00. Invoice #2: On Dec 22, 2025 they billed $187,654.58 for design, creation, address verification and preparing the mailing list for the USPS.
Did it improve voter awareness and turnout?
No, the mailer made no difference. Turnout in the Primary election was actually lower than in the past.
According to the Secretary of State’s website, voter turnout for Nevada in the 2026 mid-term Primary was 21.81%: 449,267 voted out of 2,060,184 active registered voters. This compares to the 2022 mid-term Primary, when 469,209 voters turned out of 1,821,058 registered voters.
And since when is it the Secretary of State’s mission to drive voter turnout? Doesn’t that responsibility belong to the political parties and candidates?
Was the expenditure worth the effort?
That is hard to assess, since we don’t know the business case justifying the expense. Also, why spend money in NY State as opposed to supporting a local Nevada printing firm?
Why the constant delay?
Secretary Aguilar has been frequently criticized for actively obstructing efforts by the Pigpen Project to clean up Nevada’s voter registration rolls. His office routinely delays Public Records Requests, Voter Challenges, Election Integrity Voter Information Requests.
The Pigpen Project was launched and supported by the Citizen Outreach Foundation in 2023 as evidence mounted that outdated voter registration rolls included several thousand people who had moved from Nevada, but were still listed as “active voters”. Some of these duplicate registrants actually voted twice, once in Nevada and then also in their new home state.
Secretary Aguilar’s opposition to the work of the Pigpen Project suggests he is using the power of his office to gain personal and political advantage for self-serving interests.
As Chuck Muth, President of Citizen Outreach, stated in 2023: “… Citizen Outreach’s Pigpen Project is focused primarily on cleaning up Nevada’s voter files so that only legally eligible voters are mailed a ballot.”
What was the true motivation for preparing and sending the postcards?
The Public Record Request is waiting for those questions to be answered on September 11, 2026.
Some observers are suspicious that Francisco Aguilar used the postcards at least partly as a means to enhance his personal stature and prominence ahead of the November 2026 elections where he is the incumbent candidate for re-election to the office of Secretary of State.
With the SOS providing only limited information regarding the cost of the mailers and with seven notifications of delayed response to the public records request, it seems likely that the SOS doesn’t want to provide much information about the objective and nature of these expensive mailers.
What is certain is that the SOS’s office is (again) dragging its feet in providing the public records requested by the Citizen Outreach Foundation regarding last year’s postcard mailer.
Marc Jensen is Pigpen Volunteer and candidate running this November for the Moapa Valley Water District in Logandale. The opinions expressed by contributors are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Nevada News & Views. Digital technology may have been used in the research, writing, or production of this article. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
