By Doug Goodman – Founder & Executive Director Nevadans for Election Reform
The 81st regular session of the Nevada legislature concluded at midnight, May 31, 2021. During the session, 40 election-related bills were introduced. Below, we will explore what they dealt with, who introduced them, and how they ended up.
Of the 40 bills introduced, 27 were introduced by Republican legislators and 13 by Democratic. Of the 27 Republican bills, 23 were denied a hearing, one (1) was heard in the originating chamber but did not get a vote in committee, two (2) passed out of the originating chamber but did not get a committee hearing in the second house, and one (1), or 3.7 percent of those introduced, was passed by both chambers and signed by the governor.
The fate of the 13 Democratic-sponsored bills was totally different. Of those 13, 12, or 92.3 percent were passed by both the assembly and senate and sent to the governor. The one (1) bill not passed did not get a committee hearing in the originating chamber.
| Bill | Sponsor | Summary |
| AB121 | Assemblywoman Cohen | Expanded the use of the electronic voting process used by military and other Nevada voters living overseas to those with disabilities. Also added items from SB263 to align the deadline for receipt of registration or ballots with same-day voter registration and remove the requirement for a voter to submit a new voter registration when changing party affiliation. Passed assembly 32-10 and senate 21-0 |
| AB126 | Assemblyman Frierson, TBT, Miller | Restored presidential closed primary also making NV first presidential nominating contestthe first Tuesday in February. Bill passed assembly 30-11 and senate 15-6. |
| AB129 | Assemblyman Roberts | This bill originally proposed to change the PAC reporting threshold from $1000 to $100, the same as for candidates. This portion of the bill was amended out leaving only small changes to PAC reporting before assembly vote (passed 42-0). Bill was not heard in the senate |
| AB134 | Assemblyman Matthews | This bill to repeal AB4, as expected, did not receive a hearing. |
| AB137 | Assemblyman Ellison | This bill to require voter ID did not get a hearing. |
| AB163 | Assemblywoman Dickman | This bill to require voter ID and to repeal AB4 did not get a hearing. |
| AB166 | Assemblyman Hafen | This is the one Republican-sponsored election bill to be signed by the governor. It passed both chambers unanimously. It requires political text messages to include the identity of the sender in the body of the message. |
| AB218 | Assemblywoman Titus | Currently, incumbent sheriffs or constables are forbidden to campaign for election while in uniform. In the smaller rural counties, the sheriff or constable are more than administrative required to be in the field. This can make campaigning difficult. This bill would allow them to campaign while in uniform. Bill was heard but did not receive a committee vote. |
| AB248 | Assemblywoman Tolles | This bill, supported by county election officials would have specified the rules for partisan election observers. Bill was not heard in first committee |
| AB255 | Speaker of the Assembly | Bill called for restructuring of Clark and Washoe county school boards creating a hybrid (elected and appointed) board. This was the one Democratic bill that did not get a first committee vote. |
| AB263 | Assemblywoman Alexis Hansen | Bill would require audit of personnel and equipment doing signature verification of mail ballots. While this bill did not get a hearing, provision was added into AB321. |
| AB264 | Assemblywoman Kasama | Would require county clerks to sign affidavit to SoS on list maintenance prior to elections. Bill did not get a hearing. |
| AB297 | Assembly Minority Leader | Would make the office of Registrar of Voters an elected rather than an appointed position. Bill did not get a hearing. |
| AB321 | Assemblyman Frierson | This bill made the provisions of AB4 permanent also making improvements in signature verification audits and voter role maintenance. Bill passed in assembly 26-16 and 12-9 in senate. |
| AB328 | Assemblywoman Hardy | This bill allowed for funeral directors to report deaths directly to the secretary of state. While this bill did not get a hearing, a requirement for closer coordination between the secretary of state and bureau of vital statistics was included in AB321. |
| AB390 | Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections | Current law does not require notification be provided directly to the candidate whose election is being challenged. This law requires direct notification. Bill passed both chambers unanimously. |
| AB422 | Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections | This bill codifies the switch from a bottom-up voter registration system; county clerks and registrars provide data to the secretary a state, to a top-down system; secretary of state feeds data to counties. Secretary of state has been developing the new system since last session. Bill passed unanimously. |
| AB432 | Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections | Expands automatic voter registration to DHHS and other agencies designated by the governor. Bill passed assembly 26-16 and senate 12-9. |
| AB441 | Speaker of the Assembly | Allows legislative leaders to redistribute unused bill draft requests of legislators who resign prior to start of session to their replacement. Also exempts those appointed from fundraising blackout under certain circumstances. Passed assembly 31-11 and senate 19-2. |
| AB443 | Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections | Restructures interim committee structure to match permanent legislative committees. Passed assembly 42-0 and senate 18-3. |
| AJR11 | Assemblywoman Black | Proposed constitutional amendment adding “None of the above” as choice for all offices and called for new election if “none” was the winner. Bill did not get a first hearing. |
| AJR13 | Assemblyman Wheeler | Proposed constitutional amendment specifying the legislature, not supreme court, canvass election results. Bill did not get a hearing. |
| AJR14 | Assemblywoman Titus | Constitutional amendment adding a “Retain” option on the ballot when a judge is unopposed for re-election. Bill did not receive a hearing. |
| SB101 | Senator Settelmeyer | Reintroduction of bill introduced last session to allow voters to voluntarily designate they want to show a photo ID to vote. Bill did not receive a hearing. |
| SB111 | Senator Kieckhefer | Similar to AB255 creating a hybrid; elected and appointed school board in Clark and Washoe county. Bill did not get a first hearing. |
| SB121 | Senator Kieckhefer | Proposed changing NV closed partisan primaries to non-partisan top-two open primary. Bill was not heard in committee. |
| SB130 | Senator Pickard | Similar to AB126 calling for a presidential preference primary in June. Bill was not heard in committee. |
| SB194 | Senator Lange | Bill establishes a special seal be attached to high school diploma of students who meet certain civics course requirements. Bill passed senate 21-0 and assembly 37-5. |
| SB225 | Senator Pickard | Repeal of AB4. Bill was not heard. |
| SB256 | Senator Kieckhefer | Bill would have allowed signatures on ballot initiatives to be collected electronically using a secure method. Bill did not receive a first hearing. |
| SB263 | Senate Minority Leader | Removes requirement for voter to complete a new voter registration form when just changing party affiliation and expanded deadline for overseas mail ballot receipt to match same-day voter registration deadlines. Bill passed senate 21-0 then provisions amended into AB121. |
| SB270 | Senator Seevers Gansert | Currently, legislators, the governor and governor-elect, the lieutenant governor and lieutenant governor-elect are not allowed to raise funds during set periods prior to and following a legislative session. This bill would have added the attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, and controller to that prohibition. Bill did not get a hearing. |
| SB292 | Senator Lange | In its original form, bill provided for straight-ticket voting, changing the ballot qualification criteria for minor party candidates, changing vacancy procedures, and deleting statue language calling for state oversight of party delegate selection. In the final version, straight-ticket voting and the changes to minor party qualification were removed. Final bill passed senate 12-9 and assembly 26-16. |
| SB301 | Senate Minority Leader | This bill established all mail voting, manual ballot signature verification, and election of registrar of voters. Bill was not heard. |
| SB462 | Senator Settelmeyer | This bill, introduced May 29th, would have established a redistricting advisory committee to provide recommendations for new district maps to LCB and the legislature. Bill was not heard. |
| SB79 | Senator Hardy | Bill would have incorporated the city of Laughlin as a charter city. Bill did not receive a hearing. |
| SB82 | Senator Ratti | This bill updated the city charter of Sparks to comply with current state law. Bill passed unanimously in both chambers. |
| SB84 | Committee to Conduct an Interim Study of the Requirements for Reapportionment and Redistricting in the State of Nevada (S.C.R. 9, 2019) | Increases the numbers of voters allowed in each election precinct. Bill passed unanimously. |
| SB85 | Senator Hardy | This bill proposed to change election statute to allow write in candidates. Bill did not receive a hearing. |
| SJR9 | Senator Kieckhefer | This was a proposed constitutional amendment establishing a redistricting commission to draw legislative and congressional district boundaries. Bill was not heard. |