Nothing says “transparency” like forcing election volunteers to sign confidentiality agreements insisting they won’t say anything bad about a political party.
Ahead of Saturday’s Nevada caucus, the Nevada State Democratic Party (NSDP) is requiring volunteers leading caucus sites to sign non-disclosure agreements that insist they won’t speak to the media or disclose “confidential information of the NSDP,” CNN reported. Democrats and election watchers have been wondering whether Democrats will fail spectacularly in counting caucus delegates as they did in Iowa.
To ensure Nevada Democrats don’t fail, operatives tied to former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid have been put in charge, because we all know that guy never did anything shady in his lifetime. An NSDP official told CNN that non-disclosure agreements are standard procedure and said it also required them in 2018.
A copy of the NDA obtained by the outlet states, in part, “I will take all measures necessary to protect the secrecy of, and avoid disclosure and unauthorized use of, Confidential Information of the NSDP.”
As CNN reported, the NDA refers to other NDSP activities and suggested it is used for other purposes as well.
“If I am a volunteer and answering phones at the NSDP office or volunteering at an official NSDP event, I am a representative of the NSDP and am not authorized to speak to the press unless given permission by the Executive Director or Communications Director,” the NDA says.
The NDA then reminds volunteers that they may be contacted by members of the media and that any inquiries must be passed on to the Executive Director of Communications Director of the NDSP, saying, “THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS.” It also says volunteers are not allowed to provide background or off-the-record information to reporters.
CNN spoke to volunteer Seth Morrison, who said he was planning to become a site leader but quit after he was presented with the NDA.
“The wording of that agreement is very broad,” Morrison told CNN. “If I were to quote disparage the party or talk to the media without their permission, they could sue me for everything I own.”
He also told the outlet that the NDA covered more than just election information, including information about the NDSP’s business practices and methods. Further, he said the media should be aware of the NDAs
“Since I felt that there are elements of this process that need to be reported, I could not in good conscience sign that document,” Morrison told CNN.
The outlet suggested that the “possibility that even a small number of volunteers could be quitting the day before the Nevada caucuses is yet another cause for concern that vote can been pulled off in the wake of the fiasco with the Iowa caucuses.”
Iowa Democrats didn’t require volunteers to sign NDAs. As The Daily Wire previously reported, the Democrats’ Iowa caucus was marred by chaos and incompetence, as an app designed to collect and report caucus data failed. By Tuesday, just 62% of data had been released, and it would take days for the full results to be tallied.
via The Daily Wire
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