"Republicans are resorting to trickery and gimmicks in an attempt to subvert the will of the people," said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (pictured Feb. 16 in Las Vegas). | AP Photo Harry Reid accuses Republicans of 'trickery and gimmicks' in Nevada caucuses

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) accused members of the Republican Party of resorting to "trickery and gimmicks" to spoil his state's Democratic caucuses.

"These Republican plans to interfere with the integrity of Nevada’s Democratic caucuses are shameful and immoral," Reid said in a statement released Friday. "Rather than letting voters decide and allowing our democratic system to work, Republicans are resorting to trickery and gimmicks in an attempt to subvert the will of the people. The Republican Party has long decried voter fraud, but with this latest scheme they are now encouraging it. The American people deserve a fair voting process, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that these disgraceful Republican tactics do not interfere with the voice of Nevada voters."


The charge follows a vow from the state's Democratic Party to pursue legal action against those who "falsely" register as a Democrat to caucus on Saturday and then participate in Tuesday's Republican caucuses.

“After reviewing Nevada law, we believe that registering under false pretenses in order to participate in the Democratic caucuses for purposes of manipulating the presidential nominating process is a felony," state party Chair Roberta Lange said in a statement. "The Nevada State Democratic Party will work with law enforcement to prosecute anyone who falsely registers as a Democrat to caucus tomorrow and subsequently participates in the Republican caucuses on Tuesday.”

The party includes a relevant section from state law that refers to voting but not specifically to the act of caucusing.

The sharply worded statement follows an announcement from the College Republicans at the University of Nevada, Reno, encouraging members to "capitalize on, if they see fit to" on rules that would permit them to caucus Saturday and vote in the GOP caucuses on Tuesday. The College Republicans chapter at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, condemned the call in a statement to The Huffington Post on Thursday, as a subversion of the electoral process.

Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican, also issued a statement warning against voters engaging in both Republican and Democratic caucuses.

"Given that the participation rules of the presidential caucuses for both major political parties are different, as well as the fact that the caucuses will be held on different days, it is a concern that a registered voter in Nevada might participate in both caucuses," Cegavske said. "Those voters suspected of participating in both caucuses will be reported to both major political parties and may be subject to challenge and disqualification from further participation in the nominating process."

Friday's statements come a day after the Nevada Democratic Party sent a memo to presidential campaigns reiterating "the need for proper and correct information to be disseminated by the presidential campaigns whenever possible about caucus rules, procedures, and methods."

"Please take great care in instructing your supporters and observers on the precise methods of determining viability of preference groups in the varying classes of precincts, because obviously there are important differences in procedure among those precincts awarding 1, 2, 3, or 4 or more delegates, and supporters should be made specifically aware of these differences," the memo said. "Furthermore, the math concerning the awarding of delegates may be confusing, in certain circumstances, if supporters and observers are without clear direction and understanding."

That memo came two days after the Sanders campaign released a slightly inaccurate video laying out the caucus process in the state. The video said that the viability threshold for candidates is 15 percent support of caucus-goers, but that's not always the case.

The video also encourages Republicans to caucus for Sanders, pointing them to fill out a form to register as a Democrat. The video does not explicitly encourage Republicans to register to vote twice, but neither does it warn them against doing so.

A person holding a stuffed animal asks, "I'm a Republican, can I caucus for Bernie?" The little girl hosting the video, Monteserrat Guerra, responds, "No problem! You just have to fill this form! We'll help you register as a Democrat."