S.B. 327
- *SB327*
SENATE BILL NO. 327–SENATOR OHRENSCHALL
MARCH 20, 2023
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Referred to Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to elections.
(BDR 24-892)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.
CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§§ 1-4)
(NOT REQUESTED BY AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
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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; revising provisions relating to the
establishment of a polling place, ballot drop box and
temporary branch polling place for early voting within an
Indian reservation or Indian colony for an election; and
providing other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law authorizes an Indian tribe to submit a request for the establishment 1
within the boundaries of an Indian reservation or Indian colony of: (1) a polling 2
place, a ballot drop box, or both, for the day of a primary election, presidential 3
preference primary election or general election; and (2) a temporary branch polling 4
place for early voting. A county clerk or city clerk is not required to establish a 5
polling place or ballot drop box if the county or city clerk establishes a temporary 6
branch polling place for early voting. (NRS 293.2733, 293.3572, 293C.2675, 7
293C.3572) Sections 1 and 3 of this bill require a county clerk and city clerk, 8
respectively, to establish a polling place and ballot drop box within the boundaries 9
of an Indian reservation or Indian colony unless an Indian tribe elects not to have 10
the polling place and ballot drop box established by submitting notice to the county 11
clerk or city clerk. Sections 2 and 4 of this bill require a county clerk and city 12
clerk, respectively, to also establish a temporary branch polling place for early 13
voting within the boundaries of an Indian reservation or Indian colony unless an 14
Indian tribe elects not to have the temporary branch polling place established by 15
submitting notice to the county clerk or city clerk. 16
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THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 293.2733 is hereby amended to read as 1
follows: 2
293.2733 1. If an Indian reservation or Indian colony is 3
located in whole or in part within a county, [the Indian tribe may 4
submit a request to] the county clerk [for the establishment] shall, 5
except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, establish within the 6
boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony at a location 7
or locations, as applicable, approved by the Indian tribe for the day 8
of a primary election, presidential preference primary election or 9
general election [of: 10
(a) A polling place; 11
(b) A ballot drop box; or 12
(c) Both] a polling place and a ballot drop box. 13
2. [A request for the establishment of] An Indian tribe may 14
elect not to have a polling place [, a] or ballot drop box [or both a 15
polling place and a ballot drop box] established within the 16
boundaries of an Indian reservation or Indian colony for the day of a 17
primary election, presidential preference primary election or general 18
election [: 19
(a) Must be submitted] by submitting notice to the county clerk 20
[by the Indian tribe] on or before: 21
[(1)] (a) If the [request] notice is for a primary election, 22
March 1 of the year in which the primary election is to be held. 23
[(2)] (b) If the [request] notice is for a presidential 24
preference primary election, the first Friday in November of the year 25
immediately preceding the year of the presidential preference 26
primary election. 27
[(3)] (c) If the [request] notice is for a general election, 28
August 1 of the year in which the general election is to be held. 29
[(b) May include one or more proposed locations within the 30
boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony for the polling 31
place or ballot drop box.] 32
3. Any [proposed] location of a polling place or ballot drop 33
box established pursuant to subsection 1 must satisfy the criteria 34
the county clerk uses for the establishment of any other polling 35
place [or] and ballot drop box, as applicable. 36
[3. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if the 37
county clerk receives a request that satisfies the requirements set 38
forth in subsection 2, the county clerk must establish at least one 39
polling place or ballot box, as applicable, within the boundaries of 40
the Indian reservation or Indian colony at a location or locations, as 41
applicable, approved by the Indian tribe for the day of a primary 42
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election, presidential preference primary election or general 1
election. The county clerk is not required to establish a polling place 2
within the boundaries of an Indian reservation or Indian colony for 3
the day of a primary election, presidential preference primary 4
election or general election if the county clerk established a 5
temporary branch polling place for early voting pursuant to NRS 6
293.3572 within the boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian 7
colony for the same election.] 8
4. [If the county clerk establishes one or more polling places or 9
ballot drop boxes within the boundaries of an Indian reservation or 10
Indian colony pursuant to subsection 3 for the day of a primary 11
election, presidential preference primary election or general 12
election, the] The county clerk must continue to establish one or 13
more polling places [or] and ballot drop boxes within the 14
boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony at a location or 15
locations approved by the Indian tribe for the day of any future 16
primary election, presidential preference primary election or general 17
election unless otherwise [requested] notified by the Indian tribe [.] 18
pursuant to subsection 2. 19
Sec. 2. NRS 293.3572 is hereby amended to read as follows: 20
293.3572 1. In addition to permanent polling places for early 21
voting, [except as otherwise provided in subsection 4,] the county 22
clerk may establish temporary branch polling places for early voting 23
which may include, without limitation, the clerk’s office pursuant to 24
NRS 293.3561. 25
2. If an Indian reservation or Indian colony is located in whole 26
or in part within a county, the [Indian tribe may submit a request to 27
the] county clerk [for the establishment of] shall, except as 28
otherwise provided in subsection 3, establish a temporary branch 29
polling place for early voting at a location or locations, as 30
applicable, approved by the Indian tribe within the boundaries of 31
the Indian reservation or Indian colony. 32
3. [A request for the establishment of] An Indian tribe may 33
elect not to have a temporary branch polling place for early voting 34
established within the boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian 35
colony [: 36
(a) Must be submitted] by submitting notice to the county clerk 37
[by the Indian tribe] on or before: 38
[(1)] (a) If the [request] notice is for a primary election, 39
March 1 of the year in which the general election is to be held. 40
[(2)] (b) If the [request] notice is for a presidential 41
preference primary election, the first Friday in November of the year 42
immediately preceding the year of the presidential preference 43
primary election. 44
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[(3)] (c) If the [request] notice is for a general election, 1
August 1 of the year in which the general election is to be held. 2
[(b) May include one or more proposed locations within the 3
boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony for the 4
temporary branch polling place and proposed hours of operation 5
thereof.] 6
4. Any [proposed] location of a temporary branch polling 7
place for early voting established pursuant to subsection 2 must 8
satisfy the criteria established by the county clerk for the selection 9
of temporary branch polling places pursuant to NRS 293.3561. 10
[4. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if the 11
county clerk receives a request that satisfies the requirements set 12
forth in subsection 3, the county clerk must establish at least one 13
temporary branch polling place for early voting within the 14
boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony. The location 15
and hours of operation of such a temporary branch polling place for 16
early voting must be approved by the Indian tribe. The county clerk 17
is not required to establish a temporary branch polling place within 18
the boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony if the 19
county clerk determines that it is not logistically feasible to establish 20
a temporary branch polling place within the boundaries of the Indian 21
reservation or Indian colony.] 22
5. [If the county clerk establishes one or more temporary 23
branch polling places within the boundaries of an Indian reservation 24
or Indian colony pursuant to subsection 4 for early voting, the] The 25
county clerk must continue to establish one or more temporary 26
branch polling places within the boundaries of the Indian reservation 27
or Indian colony at a location or locations approved by the Indian 28
tribe for early voting in future elections unless otherwise [requested] 29
notified by the Indian tribe [.] pursuant to subsection 3. 30
6. The provisions of subsection 3 of NRS 293.3568 do not 31
apply to a temporary branch polling place. Voting at a temporary 32
branch polling place may be conducted on any one or more days and 33
during any hours within the period for early voting by personal 34
appearance, as determined by the county clerk. 35
7. The schedules for conducting voting are not required to be 36
uniform among the temporary branch polling places. 37
8. The legal rights and remedies which inure to the owner or 38
lessor of private property are not impaired or otherwise affected by 39
the leasing of the property for use as a temporary branch polling 40
place for early voting, except to the extent necessary to conduct 41
early voting at that location. 42
Sec. 3. NRS 293C.2675 is hereby amended to read as follows: 43
293C.2675 1. If an Indian reservation or Indian colony is 44
located in whole or in part within a city, the [Indian tribe may 45
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submit a request to the] city clerk [for the establishment] shall, 1
except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, establish within the 2
boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony at a location 3
or locations, as applicable, approved by the Indian tribe for the day 4
of a primary city election or general city election [of: 5
(a) A polling place; 6
(b) A ballot drop box; or 7
(c) Both] a polling place and a ballot drop box. 8
2. [A request for the establishment of] An Indian tribe may 9
elect not to have a polling place [, a] or ballot drop box [or both a 10
polling place and a ballot drop box] established within the 11
boundaries of an Indian reservation or Indian colony for the day of a 12
primary city election or general city election [: 13
(a) Must be submitted] by submitting notice to the city clerk [by 14
the Indian tribe] on or before: 15
[(1)] (a) If the [request] notice is for a primary city election, 16
March 1 of the year in which the primary city election is to be held. 17
[(2)] (b) If the [request] notice is for a general city election, 18
August 1 of the year in which the general city election is to be held. 19
[(b) May include one or more proposed locations within the 20
boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony for the polling 21
place or ballot drop box.] 22
3. Any [proposed] location [for] of a polling place or ballot 23
drop box established pursuant to subsection 1 must satisfy the 24
criteria the city clerk uses for the establishment of any other polling 25
place [or] and ballot drop box, as applicable. 26
[3. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if the city 27
clerk receives a request that satisfies the requirements set forth in 28
subsection 2, the city clerk must establish at least one polling place 29
or ballot drop box within the boundaries of the Indian reservation or 30
Indian colony at a location or locations, as applicable, approved by 31
the Indian tribe for the day of a primary city election or general city 32
election. The city clerk is not required to establish a polling place 33
within the boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony for 34
the day of a primary city election or general city election if the city 35
clerk established a temporary branch polling place for early voting 36
pursuant to NRS 293C.3572 within the boundaries of the Indian 37
reservation or Indian colony for the same election.] 38
4. [If the city clerk establishes one or more polling places or 39
ballot drop boxes within the boundaries of an Indian reservation or 40
Indian colony pursuant to subsection 3 for the day of a primary city 41
election or general city election, the] The city clerk must continue to 42
establish one or more polling places [or] and ballot drop boxes 43
within the boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony at a 44
location or locations approved by the Indian tribe for the day of any 45
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future primary city election or general city election unless otherwise 1
[requested] notified by the Indian tribe [.] pursuant to subsection 2. 2
Sec. 4. NRS 293C.3572 is hereby amended to read as follows: 3
293C.3572 1. In addition to permanent polling places for 4
early voting, [except as otherwise provided in subsection 4,] the city 5
clerk may establish temporary branch polling places for early voting 6
pursuant to NRS 293C.3561. 7
2. If an Indian reservation or Indian colony is located in whole 8
or in part within a city, the [Indian tribe may submit a request to the] 9
city clerk [for the establishment of] shall, except as otherwise 10
provided in subsection 3, establish a temporary branch polling 11
place for early voting at a location or locations, as applicable, 12
approved by the Indian tribe within the boundaries of the Indian 13
reservation or Indian colony. 14
3. [A request for the establishment of] An Indian tribe may 15
elect not to have a temporary branch polling place for early voting 16
established within the boundaries of an Indian reservation or Indian 17
colony [: 18
(a) Must be submitted] by submitting notice to the city clerk [by 19
the Indian tribe] on or before: 20
[(1)] (a) If the [request] notice is for a primary city election, 21
March 1 of the year in which the primary city election is to be held. 22
[(2)] (b) If the [request] notice is for a general city election, 23
August 1 of the year in which the general city election is to be held. 24
[(b) May include one or more proposed locations within the 25
boundaries of the Indian reservation or Indian colony for the 26
temporary branch polling place and proposed hours thereof.] 27
4. Any [proposed] location of a temporary branch polling 28
place for early voting established pursuant to subsection 2 must 29
satisfy the criteria established by the city clerk pursuant to 30
NRS 293C.3561. 31
[4. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if the city 32
clerk receives a request that satisfies the requirements set forth in 33
subsection 3, the city clerk must establish at least one temporary 34
branch polling place for early voting within the boundaries of the 35
Indian reservation or Indian colony. The location and hours of 36
operation of such a temporary branch polling place for early voting 37
must be approved by the Indian tribe. The city clerk is not required 38
to establish a temporary branch polling place within the boundaries 39
of the Indian reservation or Indian colony if the city clerk 40
determines that it is not logistically feasible to establish a temporary 41
branch polling place within the boundaries of the Indian reservation 42
or Indian colony.] 43
5. [If the city clerk establishes one or more temporary branch 44
polling places within the boundaries of an Indian reservation or 45
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Indian colony pursuant to subsection 4 for early voting, the] The 1
city clerk must continue to establish one or more temporary branch 2
polling places within the boundaries of the Indian reservation or 3
Indian colony at a location or locations approved by the Indian tribe 4
for early voting in future elections unless otherwise [requested] 5
notified by the Indian tribe [.] pursuant to subsection 3. 6
6. The provisions of subsection 3 of NRS 293C.3568 do not 7
apply to a temporary branch polling place. Voting at a temporary 8
branch polling place may be conducted on any one or more days and 9
during any hours within the period for early voting by personal 10
appearance, as determined by the city clerk. 11
7. The schedules for conducting voting are not required to be 12
uniform among the temporary branch polling places. 13
8. The legal rights and remedies which inure to the owner or 14
lessor of private property are not impaired or otherwise affected by 15
the leasing of the property for use as a temporary branch polling 16
place for early voting, except to the extent necessary to conduct 17
early voting at that location. 18
Sec. 5. The provisions of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any 19
additional expenses of a local government that are related to the 20
provisions of this act. 21
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