Cisco Aguilar | |
|---|---|
 Aguilar leading a 2024 workshop at theLBJ Presidential Library. | |
| 18thSecretary of State of Nevada | |
| Assumed office January 2, 2023 | |
| Governor | Joe Lombardo |
| Preceded by | Barbara Cegavske |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Francisco Aguilar 1976 or 1977 (age 47–48) Tucson, Arizona, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | University of Arizona (BS,MBA,JD) |
Francisco V. Aguilar (born 1976/1977)[1] is an American lawyer and politician currently serving as thesecretary of state of Nevada since 2023. A member of theDemocratic Party, he was elected in2022, defeating RepublicanJim Marchant.
Born and raised in Arizona, Aguilar received both his undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Arizona. After moving to Nevada in 2004, Aguilar worked for Nevada Senator Harry Reid, and went on to serve in both private and public roles in law, business, and education until he was elected to state-wide office in 2022.
Aguilar was born inTucson, Arizona in 1976 or 1977 (age 48–49) to a family ofMexican descent. He is named after his grandfather, Frank Verdugo, aunion leader andnegotiator at a mine inHayden, Arizona.[2] Growing up, he participated in several sports, includingfootball,wrestling, andtrack.[3]
After graduating fromUniversity High School in Tucson, he went on to graduate from theUniversity of Arizona with abachelor's degree infinance andaccounting in 2000, and a jointJuris Doctor andMaster of Business Administration in 2004.[4][2]
As a lawyer, he worked as a law clerk forU.S. Senate Majority LeaderHarry Reid.[5] Aguilar served for eight years on theNevada State Athletic Commission, including two years as chairman.[4] He also served as special counsel toJames E. Rogers, chancellor of theNevada System of Higher Education. He also led Agassi Graf, a management company for tennis starsAndre Agassi andSteffi Graf.[6]
Aguilar is a member of the board of directors forNCAA'sLas Vegas Bowl,[7] Sletten Construction Company,[8] the Fulfillment Fund Las Vegas[9] and the University of Arizona Foundation Board of Trustees.[10] He is a founding board member of the Innocence Center of Nevada.[11] He was the first chairman of the board of trustees of Cristo Rey St. Viator, aRoman Catholic high school inNorth Las Vegas that principally serves students from impoverished families.[5][12][13]
Before holding office, Aguilar worked for De Castroverde Law Group as an attorney and owns Blueprint Sports, LLC, a sports technology company.[14]
Aguilar announced his candidacy to becomesecretary of state of Nevada for the2022 election; his predecessor,Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, was ineligible to run again due to strict absolute lifetimeterm limit laws.[5]
Unopposed in theDemocratic Party'sprimary election, he faced Republican nomineeJim Marchant in the general election. Marchant, a prominentQAnonconspiracy theorist and one-termNevada assemblyman, lost to Aguilar by a little over 2%.[15] Marchant is also anelection denier who believed the2020 election was stolen from PresidentDonald Trump.[16] His victory made him the firstLatino Nevada secretary of state.[17]
Aguilar supported a bipartisan bill signed by RepublicanGovernorJoe Lombardo enacted by the Democratic-majority state legislature which makes harassing election workers a felony in Nevada.[18][19]
In the highly contentious2020 and2024 presidential elections, both with narrow margins of victory, has put Nevada's election system in the national spotlight. Aguilar has spent much of his time as secretary of state educating national and local press about Nevada law, which is largely the reason for the delays after election day.[20] Nevada's ballot counting speed has, at least since 2020, become the subject of memes and broaderinternet culture.[21][22][23][24]
Nevada law requires that all registered voters receive a mail in ballot which they may use in lieu of in person voting. However, mail and ballot signatures must match the signature on file at theNevada Department of Motor Vehicles. If the signature does not match, voters are given time to complete a process to verify their signature and have their vote counted. Letters are also given a period of time to correct their signature, which must be verified by election workers. In the 2024 election, approximately 14,000 ballots had errors that needed to be corrected with November 12 being the latest deadline.[25][26]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Cisco Aguilar | 496,569 | 48.95 | ||
| Republican | Jim Marchant | 473,467 | 46.67 | ||
| None of These Candidates | 18,144 | 1.79 | |||
| Independent American | Janine Hansen | 17,472 | 1.72 | ||
| Libertarian | Ross Crane | 8,821 | 0.87 | ||
| Total votes | 1,014,473 | 100.0 | |||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | |||||
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Secretary of State of Nevada 2023–present | Incumbent |
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