Nevada election official says ‘I am concerned for the safety of my staff'

Joe Gloria said he was concerned for the safety of those in Clark County, Nevada, who were working to count votes

Nevada’s senior election official in Clark County has admitted he is “concerned for the safety of staff” as they continue to count votes in the fiercely-contested district.

Joe Gloria, the voter registrar, who on Wednesday was interrupted by a wild Trump supporter in a “BBQ, beer, freedom” t-shirt, ranting about the “Biden crime family” working to “steal the election”, admitted on Thursday that he was concerned.

Thursday’s press conference was held indoors, with only accredited media inside - a change from Wednesday’s briefing, outside the Clark County election department.

In neighbouring Arizona election officials are pleading with the heavily-armed Trump supporters who have positioned themselves outside Maricopa County electoral offices to go home, saying they put everyone at risk and slow the process.

Mr Gloria was asked if he was concerned.

“I can tell you that my wife and my mother are very concerned for me,” he said.

"But we have security here. We have law enforcement who are protecting us.

“I am concerned for the safety of my staff.”

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Mr Gloria said they were “putting measures into place to make sure that we have the security that is necessary.”

The building where the votes were being counted was protected by police, and cars were being swept for entry into the area, he said.

“But I feel safe. We are going to be OK. We will not allow anyone to stop us from doing what our duty is, and counting ballots.”

Mr Gloria’s remarks were met with sadness by some, lamenting that it was necessary to be protected.

John Myers, the Sacramento bureau chief of the Los Angeles Times, tweeted: “I moderated an elections panel in 2017 with Joe Gloria as a panelist. He is a thoughtful and dedicated elections administration official. Watching him talk about his safety in doing his job... a chilling moment in American democracy.”

Donald Trump has been enraged by the electoral process in Nevada, where votes postmarked 3 November will still be counted even if they arrive as late as 10 November.

As mail-in ballot results from the three battlegrounds slowly trickled in, Joe Biden’s lead widened on Thursday in Nevada and he started eating further into Mr Trump’s margins in Georgia and Pennsylvania, where the Democrat’s campaign and surrogates forecast a win.

Earlier in the day, Mr Biden’s campaign manager Jen O'Malley Dillon said the campaign felt good about its position in Nevada and was “looking for that moment in Pennsylvania and Georgia today where we see that ticker overtake Donald Trump."

She added: "We think it's going to happen. We're very optimistic and we don't we don't really care which state takes us over the top.”

The easiest state to do that for Mr Biden is Nevada, which is worth six Electoral College votes – the exact number he needs to get him to the 270 to secure a win.

Mr Biden is leading by a point, or 11,400 votes, in Nevada, which is expecting 60,000 mail-in ballots from Democrat-rich Clark County to be counted on Friday along with another 60,000 provisional ballots.

“It looks really good for us, and I don’t know how Trump catches us in Nevada,” said a Biden adviser tracking the numbers, in an interview with Politico. 

“But we’re not doing anything rash. We’re not going to say we won until there’s a call. There’s a speech ready to go. But he’s not giving it until the time is right. That could be tonight. It could be tomorrow.”