Panic buttons were installed in Key Swing County on Election Day

Panic buttons have reportedly been placed at polling stations throughout Washoe County, Nevada, ahead of the November 5 election.

The report in The Reno Gazette Journal comes after it was announced that Nevada's Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo was activating a contingent of the state's National Guard as a precautionary measure.

Election security has been the focus this year following the disputed 2020 vote, which Donald Trump continues to insist was rigged against him, although those claims have been repeatedly rejected in court and by independent election observers. In recent months, Trump has survived two apparent assassination attempts, including one on July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania, in which he was slightly injured and killed a rally attendee.

In conversation with The Reno Gazette Regarding the installation of panic buttons, county spokeswoman Bethany Drysdale said: “We have increased our security measures. “If a voting center manager feels there is an imminent threat, they can press the panic button.” Drysdale later confirmed this Newsweek that the panic buttons were installed as a precautionary measure and not in response to a specific threat.

In 2023, the Nevada Legislature passed the Election Worker Protection Act, making interference with poll workers a felony.

Drysdale added: “It is now a criminal offense to harass poll workers and I hope this also acts as a deterrent so that someone might think twice before attempting to harass a poll worker.”

Newsweek contacted Washoe County via email outside of regular office hours on Saturday for comment.

Washoe County narrowly supported Joe Biden in 2020 with 50.8 percent versus 46.3 percent for Trump, helping the Democratic candidate win in Nevada.

According to Washoe County Safety Commissioner Ben West, quoted in The Reno Gazette JournalPolice were previously called to a polling station in the county when a potential voter became upset after being told he was not allowed to wear clothing with a political message inside the venue. Nevada law prohibits “campaigning,” including wearing clothing that supports or opposes either candidate, within 100 feet of the polling place.

West said, “Reno police were called and responded to the scene, but no arrests were made. The voter was allowed to continue with the voting process after discussing what rules they needed to follow.”

West added that local law enforcement is familiar with the layout of polling locations in Washoe County, giving them an advantage should further incidents occur.

“In general, they have a good understanding of where all of our locations are and how they are physically arranged,” he said. “So if they had to react to something, they already know what they’re getting into.”

An Insider Advantage poll of 800 likely voters in Nevada conducted between October 19 and 20 found Trump and Harris tied at 48 percent. The survey had a margin of error of 3.52 percent.

As of November 1, a model from election website FiveThirtyEight, based on an analysis of recent polls, showed Trump with 47.7 percent of the vote in Nevada, compared to 47.3 percent, by 0.4 points.

Update 11/24/24, 12:54 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with additional information from Washoe County spokesperson Bethany Drysdale.