S.B. 325
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SENATE BILL NO. 325–SENATORS SEEVERS GANSERT, TITUS,
HANSEN, STONE, KRASNER; BUCK AND GOICOECHEA
MARCH 20, 2023
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Referred to Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to elections.
(BDR 24-105)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.
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EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to elections; creating the Unit for the Investigation
and Prosecution of Election Crimes within the Office of
the Attorney General; requiring the Unit to establish a
complaint system and a hotline to report election
irregularities; requiring the Unit to receive and review
complaints, notices, referrals and reports concerning
alleged election irregularities; authorizing the Unit to
investigate and prosecute alleged election irregularities;
requiring the Unit to submit a report concerning alleged
election irregularities to the Governor and the Legislature
every odd-numbered year; and providing other matters
properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Section 5 of this bill creates the Unit for the Investigation and Prosecution of 1
Election Crimes within the Office of the Attorney General, composed of an 2
Inspector General appointed by the Attorney General and, within the limits of 3
legislative appropriation, a number of investigators and other staff which the 4
Attorney General determines are necessary to carry out the duties of the Unit. For 5
the purposes of establishing the jurisdiction of the Unit, section 3 of this bill 6
defines “election irregularity” as a violation of certain provisions of state law 7
relating to elections. Section 6 of this bill requires the Unit to: (1) establish and 8
administer a statewide complaint system allowing any person who believes there 9
has been an election irregularity to notify the Unit in writing; (2) maintain a 24-10
hour, toll-free statewide hotline by which any person can report an alleged election 11
irregularity; and (3) receive and review any complaints, notices, referrals or reports 12
concerning allegations of election irregularities. Section 6 further authorizes the 13
Unit itself to investigate and prosecute alleged election irregularities or, if 14
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applicable, with the assistance of the district attorney of the county in which the 15
alleged election irregularity occurred. 16
Section 7 of this bill requires the Unit to submit a report on or before January 17
15 of each odd-numbered year to the Governor and the Director of the Legislative 18
Counsel Bureau for transmittal to the Legislature. The report must include the 19
number of: (1) complaints, notices, referrals and reports received and reviewed by 20
the Unit; (2) investigations initiated by the Unit; and (3) prosecutions made by the 21
Unit. For each alleged election irregularity identified by the Unit, the report must 22
also include: (1) the source of the alleged election irregularity; (2) the nature of the 23
alleged election irregularity; (3) the county in which the alleged election 24
irregularity reportedly occurred; and (4) the current status of any investigations or 25
prosecutions concerning the alleged election irregularity. 26
Sections 8-11 of this bill update various reporting requirements concerning 27
election irregularities, requiring a county or city clerk to notify the Attorney 28
General of certain violations or challenges related to elections filed pursuant to 29
existing law. 30
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Chapter 293 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto the provisions set forth as sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this 2
act. 3
Sec. 2. As used in sections 2 to 7, inclusive, of this act, unless 4
the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined in 5
sections 3 and 4 of this act have the meanings ascribed to them in 6
those sections. 7
Sec. 3. “Election irregularity” means a violation of any of 8
the provisions of this chapter or chapter 293B, 293C, 295, 298, 9
304 or 306 of NRS. 10
Sec. 4. “Unit” means the Unit for the Investigation and 11
Prosecution of Election Crimes created by section 5 of this act. 12
Sec. 5. 1. There is hereby created in the Office of the 13
Attorney General the Unit for the Investigation and Prosecution of 14
Election Crimes. 15
2. The Unit is composed of: 16
(a) An Inspector General appointed by the Attorney General; 17
and 18
(b) Within the limits of legislative appropriations, a number of 19
investigators and other staff which the Attorney General 20
determines are necessary to carry out the duties of the Unit. 21
Sec. 6. 1. The Unit shall: 22
(a) Establish and administer a statewide complaint system to 23
allow any person who believes that there has been an election 24
irregularity to notify the Unit in writing. The Attorney General 25
shall prescribe any form required for such complaints. 26
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(b) Maintain a 24-hour, toll-free statewide hotline by which 1
any person can report an alleged election irregularity. 2
(c) Receive and review any complaints, notices, referrals or 3
reports concerning allegations of election irregularities submitted 4
to the Attorney General. 5
2. If it appears that an alleged election irregularity has 6
occurred, the Unit may, itself, investigate and prosecute the 7
alleged election irregularity or, if applicable, with the assistance of 8
the district attorney of the county in which the alleged election 9
irregularity occurred. 10
3. This section must not be construed to limit the authority of 11
any other agency or political subdivision of the State authorized by 12
law to investigate or prosecute violations of any provision of title 13
24 of NRS. 14
Sec. 7. 1. On or before January 15 of each odd-numbered 15
year, the Unit shall prepare and submit a report to the Governor 16
and the Director of the Legislative Counsel Bureau for transmittal 17
to the Legislature. 18
2. The report must include the number of: 19
(a) Complaints, notices, referrals and reports received and 20
reviewed by the Unit; 21
(b) Investigations initiated by the Unit; and 22
(c) Prosecutions made by the Unit. 23
3. For each alleged election irregularity identified by the 24
Unit, the report must include: 25
(a) The source of the alleged election irregularity; 26
(b) The nature of the alleged election irregularity; 27
(c) The county in which the alleged election irregularity 28
reportedly occurred; and 29
(d) The current status of any investigation or prosecution 30
concerning the alleged election irregularity. 31
Sec. 8. NRS 293.505 is hereby amended to read as follows: 32
293.505 1. All justices of the peace, except those located in 33
county seats, are ex officio field registrars to carry out the 34
provisions of this chapter. 35
2. The county clerk shall appoint at least one registered voter to 36
serve as a field registrar of voters who, except as otherwise provided 37
in NRS 293.5055, shall preregister and register voters within the 38
county for which the field registrar is appointed. Except as 39
otherwise provided in subsection 1, a candidate for any office may 40
not be appointed or serve as a field registrar. A field registrar serves 41
at the pleasure of the county clerk and shall perform such duties as 42
the county clerk may direct. The county clerk shall not knowingly 43
appoint any person as a field registrar who has been convicted of a 44
felony involving theft or fraud. The Secretary of State may bring an 45
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action against a county clerk to collect a civil penalty of not more 1
than $5,000 for each person who is appointed as a field registrar in 2
violation of this subsection. Any civil penalty collected pursuant to 3
this subsection must be deposited with the State Treasurer for credit 4
to the State General Fund. 5
3. A field registrar shall demand of any person who applies for 6
preregistration or registration all information required by the 7
application to preregister or register to vote, as applicable, and shall 8
administer all oaths required by this chapter. 9
4. When a field registrar has in his or her possession five or 10
more completed applications to preregister or register to vote, the 11
field registrar shall forward them to the county clerk, but in no case 12
may the field registrar hold any number of them for more than 10 13
days. 14
5. Each field registrar shall forward to the county clerk all 15
completed applications in his or her possession immediately after 16
the last day to register to vote by mail pursuant to NRS 293.560 or 17
293C.527, as applicable. Within 5 days after the last day to register 18
to vote by mail pursuant to NRS 293.560 or 293C.527, as 19
applicable, a field registrar shall return all unused applications in his 20
or her possession to the county clerk. If all of the unused 21
applications are not returned to the county clerk, the field registrar 22
shall account for the unreturned applications. 23
6. Each field registrar shall submit to the county clerk a list of 24
the serial numbers of the completed applications to preregister or 25
register to vote and the names of the electors on those applications. 26
The serial numbers must be listed in numerical order. 27
7. Each field registrar shall post notices sent to him or her by 28
the county clerk for posting in accordance with the election laws of 29
this State. 30
8. A field registrar, employee of a voter registration agency or 31
person assisting a voter pursuant to NRS 293.5235 shall not: 32
(a) Delegate any of his or her duties to another person; or 33
(b) Refuse to preregister or register a person on account of that 34
person’s political party affiliation. 35
9. A person shall not hold himself or herself out to be or 36
attempt to exercise the duties of a field registrar unless the person 37
has been so appointed. 38
10. A county clerk, field registrar, employee of a voter 39
registration agency or person assisting another person pursuant to 40
NRS 293.5235 shall not: 41
(a) Solicit a vote for or against a particular question or 42
candidate; 43
(b) Speak to a person on the subject of marking his or her ballot 44
for or against a particular question or candidate; or 45
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(c) Distribute any petition or other material concerning a 1
candidate or question which will be on the ballot for the ensuing 2
election, 3
while preregistering or registering the person. 4
11. When the county clerk receives applications to preregister 5
or register to vote from a field registrar, the county clerk shall issue 6
a receipt to the field registrar. The receipt must include: 7
(a) The number of persons preregistered or registered; and 8
(b) The political party of the persons preregistered or registered. 9
12. A county clerk, field registrar, employee of a voter 10
registration agency or person assisting another person pursuant to 11
NRS 293.5235 shall not: 12
(a) Knowingly: 13
(1) Register a person who is not a qualified elector or a 14
person who has filed a false or misleading application to register to 15
vote; or 16
(2) Preregister a person who does not meet the qualifications 17
set forth in NRS 293.4855; or 18
(b) Preregister or register a person who fails to provide 19
satisfactory proof of identification and the address at which the 20
person actually resides. 21
13. A county clerk, field registrar, employee of a voter 22
registration agency, person assisting another person pursuant to 23
NRS 293.5235 or any other person providing a form for the 24
application to preregister or register to vote to an elector for the 25
purpose of preregistering or registering to vote: 26
(a) If the person who assists another person with completing the 27
form for the application to preregister or register to vote retains the 28
form, shall enter his or her name on the duplicate copy or receipt 29
retained by the person upon completion of the form; and 30
(b) Shall not alter, deface or destroy an application to preregister 31
or register to vote that has been signed by a person except to correct 32
information contained in the application after receiving notice from 33
the person that a change in or addition to the information is required. 34
14. If a field registrar violates any of the provisions of this 35
section, the county clerk shall immediately suspend the field 36
registrar and notify the district attorney of the county in which the 37
violation occurred [.] and the Attorney General. 38
15. A person who violates any of the provisions of subsection 39
8, 9, 10, 12 or 13 is guilty of a category E felony and shall be 40
punished as provided in NRS 193.130. 41
Sec. 9. NRS 293.547 is hereby amended to read as follows: 42
293.547 1. After the 30th day but not later than the 25th day 43
before any election, a written challenge may be filed with the county 44
clerk. 45
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2. A registered voter may file a written challenge if: 1
(a) He or she is registered to vote in the same precinct as the 2
person whose right to vote is challenged; and 3
(b) The challenge is based on the personal knowledge of the 4
registered voter. 5
3. The challenge must be signed and verified by the registered 6
voter and name the person whose right to vote is challenged and the 7
ground of the challenge. 8
4. A challenge filed pursuant to this section must not contain 9
the name of more than one person whose right to vote is challenged. 10
The county clerk shall not accept for filing any challenge which 11
contains more than one such name. 12
5. The county clerk shall: 13
(a) File the challenge in the registrar of voters’ register and: 14
(1) In counties where records of registration are not kept by 15
computer, he or she shall attach a copy of the challenge to the 16
challenged registration in the roster. 17
(2) In counties where records of registration are kept by 18
computer, he or she shall have the challenge printed on the 19
computer entry for the challenged registration and add a copy of it 20
to the roster. 21
(b) Within 5 days after a challenge is filed, mail a notice in the 22
manner set forth in NRS 293.530 to the person whose right to vote 23
has been challenged pursuant to this section informing the person of 24
the challenge. If the person fails to respond or appear to vote within 25
the required time, the county clerk shall cancel the person’s 26
registration. A copy of the challenge and information describing 27
how to reregister properly must accompany the notice. 28
(c) Immediately notify the district attorney [.] and the Attorney 29
General. A copy of the challenge must accompany the notice. 30
6. Upon receipt of a notice pursuant to this section, the district 31
attorney shall investigate the challenge within 14 days and, if 32
appropriate, cause proceedings to be instituted and prosecuted in a 33
court of competent jurisdiction without delay. The court shall give 34
such proceedings priority over other civil matters that are not 35
expressly given priority by law. Upon court order, the county clerk 36
shall cancel the registration of the person whose right to vote has 37
been challenged pursuant to this section. 38
Sec. 10. NRS 293.548 is hereby amended to read as follows: 39
293.548 1. A person who files a written challenge pursuant to 40
NRS 293.547 or an affidavit pursuant to NRS 293.535 may 41
withdraw the challenge or affidavit not later than the 25th day 42
before the date of the election, by submitting a written request to the 43
county clerk. Upon receipt of the request, the county clerk shall: 44
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(a) Remove the challenge or affidavit from the registrar of 1
voters’ register, any roster and any other record in which the 2
challenge or affidavit has been filed or entered; 3
(b) If a notice of the challenge or affidavit has been mailed to 4
the person who is the subject of the challenge or affidavit, mail a 5
notice and a copy of the request to withdraw to that person; and 6
(c) If a notice of the challenge has been mailed to the district 7
attorney [,] and the Attorney General, mail a notice and a copy of 8
the request to withdraw to the district attorney [.] and the Attorney 9
General. 10
2. If the county clerk receives a request to withdraw pursuant 11
to subsection 1, the county clerk shall withdraw the person’s 12
challenge or affidavit. 13
Sec. 11. NRS 293.755 is hereby amended to read as follows: 14
293.755 1. A person who tampers or interferes with, or 15
attempts to tamper or interfere with, a mechanical voting system, 16
mechanical voting device or any computer program used to count 17
ballots with the intent to prevent the proper operation of that device, 18
system or program is guilty of a category D felony and shall be 19
punished as provided in NRS 193.130. 20
2. A person who tampers or interferes with, or attempts to 21
tamper or interfere with, a mechanical voting system, mechanical 22
voting device or any computer program used to count ballots with 23
the intent to influence the outcome of an election is guilty of a 24
category B felony and shall be punished by imprisonment in the 25
state prison for a minimum term of not less than 2 years and a 26
maximum term of not more than 20 years. 27
3. The county or city clerk shall report any alleged violation of 28
this section to the Attorney General and to the district attorney who 29
shall cause appropriate proceedings to be instituted and prosecuted 30
in a court of competent jurisdiction without delay. 31
Sec. 12. The provisions of subsection 1 of NRS 218D.380 do 32
not apply to any provision of this act which adds or revises a 33
requirement to submit a report to the Legislature. 34
Sec. 13. This act becomes effective on July 1, 2023. 35
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