Nevada 2023 2023 Regular Session

Nevada Senate Bill SB406 Amended / Bill

                      
 (Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 24, 2023) 
 	FIRST REPRINT S.B. 406 
 
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SENATE BILL NO. 406–COMMITTEE ON  
LEGISLATIVE OPERATIONS AND ELECTIONS 
 
(ON BEHALF OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE) 
 
MARCH 27, 2023 
____________ 
 
Referred to Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections 
 
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to elections. 
(BDR 24-894) 
 
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; making it unlawful for a person to 
use or threaten or attempt to use any force, intimidation, 
coercion, violence, restraint or undue influence with the 
intent to interfere with the performance of duties of an 
elections official or retaliate against an elections official 
for the performance of such duties; making it unlawful to 
disseminate certain information about an elections 
official; providing penalties; and providing other matters 
properly relating thereto. 
Legislative Counsel’s Digest: 
 Existing law makes it a crime, punishable as a category E felony, to use or 1 
threaten to use any force, intimidation, coercion, violence, restraint or undue 2 
influence in connection with any election, petition or preregistration or registration 3 
of voters. (NRS 293.710) Section 1 of this bill makes it a crime, punishable as a 4 
category E felony, for any person to use or threaten or attempt to use any force, 5 
intimidation, coercion, violence, restraint or undue influence with the intent to: (1) 6 
interfere with the performance of the duties of any elections official relating to an 7 
election; or (2) retaliate against any elections official for performing duties relating 8 
to an election. Section 1 further makes it a crime, punishable as a category E 9 
felony, for any person to disseminate any personal identifying information or 10 
sensitive information of an elections official without the consent of the elections 11 
official, knowing that the elections official could be identified by such information, 12 
if: (1) the person disseminates such personal identifying information or sensitive 13 
information with the intent to aid, assist, encourage, facilitate, further or promote 14 
any criminal offense which would be reasonably likely to cause death, bodily injury 15 
or stalking or with the intent to cause harm to the elections official and with 16   
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knowledge of or reckless disregard for the reasonable likelihood that the 17 
dissemination of the information may cause death, bodily injury or stalking; and (2) 18 
the dissemination of the personal identifying information or sensitive information 19 
would cause a reasonable person to fear the death, bodily injury or stalking of 20 
himself or herself or a close relation or causes the death, bodily injury or stalking of 21 
the elections official whose information was disseminated or a close relation of the 22 
elections official. Finally, section 1 establishes that certain activities are not 23 
restricted by section 1. 24 
 
 
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 a new section to read as follows: 2 
 1. It is unlawful for any person to use or threaten or attempt 3 
to use any force, intimidation, coercion, violence, restraint or 4 
undue influence with the intent to: 5 
 (a) Interfere with the performance of the duties of any 6 
elections official relating to an election; or 7 
 (b) Retaliate against any elections official for performing 8 
duties relating to an election. 9 
 2. The provisions of subsection 1 apply regardless of whether 10 
a person uses or threatens or attempts to use such force, 11 
intimidation, coercion, violence, restraint or undue influence at a 12 
polling place or a location other than a polling place.  13 
 3. It is unlawful for a person to disseminate any personal 14 
identifying information or sensitive information of an elections 15 
official without the consent of the elections official, knowing that 16 
the elections official could be identified by such information, if: 17 
 (a) The person disseminates such personal identifying 18 
information or sensitive information: 19 
  (1) With the intent to aid, assist, encourage, facilitate, 20 
further or promote any criminal offense which would be 21 
reasonably likely to cause death, bodily injury or stalking; or 22 
  (2) With the intent to cause harm to the elections official 23 
and with knowledge of or reckless disregard for the reasonable 24 
likelihood that the dissemination of the information may cause 25 
death, bodily injury or stalking; and 26 
 (b) The dissemination of the personal identifying information 27 
or sensitive information: 28 
  (1) Would cause a reasonable person to fear the death, 29 
bodily injury or stalking of himself or herself or a close relation; 30 
or 31 
  (2) Causes the death, bodily injury or stalking of the 32 
elections official whose information was disseminated or a close 33 
relation of the elections official. 34   
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 4. A person who violates the provisions of subsection 1 or 3 is 1 
guilty of a category E felony and shall be punished as provided in 2 
NRS 193.130. 3 
 5. The section does not limit: 4 
 (a) The applicability of the provisions of law relating to: 5 
  (1) Observing the conduct of voting at a polling place 6 
pursuant to NRS 293.274 or 293C.269; 7 
  (2) Observing the conduct of tests pursuant to NRS 8 
293B.145 or 293C.615; 9 
  (3) Observing the handling of ballots upon the closing of 10 
the polls pursuant to NRS 293B.330 or 293C.630; 11 
  (4) Observing the counting of ballots at the central 12 
counting place pursuant to NRS 293B.353; 13 
  (5) Observing the delivery, counting, handling and 14 
processing of the ballots at a polling place, receiving center and 15 
the central counting place pursuant to NRS 293B.354; and 16 
  (6) Observing ballot processing pursuant to NRS 293B.380.  17 
 (b) The ability of a person to give or offer to give prepackaged 18 
food items, nonalcoholic beverages, coats, handwarmers or other 19 
similar items to other persons who are at a polling place or any 20 
other location described in paragraph (a), if done in accordance 21 
with any other law and to the extent such items are not distributed 22 
inside of a building which does not permit the distribution of such 23 
items in the building as indicated by a sign posted in a prominent 24 
place at the entrance of the building. 25 
 (c) The ability of a person to engage in written recordation of 26 
notes at a polling place or a location other than a polling place; or 27 
 (d) The ability of a person to communicate with voters, 28 
election board officers or other persons in any way that is not 29 
otherwise limited or prohibited pursuant to subsection 1 or 3 or 30 
any other provision of law, including, without limitation,  31 
NRS 293.740. 32 
 6. As used in this section:  33 
 (a) “Close relation” means a current or former spouse or 34 
domestic partner, parent, child, sibling, stepparent, grandparent or 35 
any person who regularly resides in the household of who, within 36 
the immediately preceding 6 months, regularly resided in the 37 
household. 38 
 (b) “Elections official” means: 39 
  (1) The Secretary of State or any deputy or employee in the 40 
Elections Division of the Office of the Secretary of State who is 41 
charged with duties relating to an election; 42 
  (2) A registrar of voters, county clerk, city clerk or any 43 
deputy or employee in the elections division of a county or city 44 
who is charged with elections duties; or 45   
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  (3) An election board officer or counting board officer. 1 
 (c) “Personal identifying information” has the meaning 2 
ascribed to it in NRS 205.4617. 3 
 (d) “Sensitive information” has the meaning ascribed to it in 4 
NRS 41.1347. 5 
 (e) “Stalking” means a violation of NRS 200.575. 6 
 Sec. 2.  (Deleted by amendment.) 7 
 Sec. 3.  (Deleted by amendment.) 8 
 Sec. 4.  (Deleted by amendment.) 9 
 Sec. 5.  (Deleted by amendment.) 10 
 Sec. 6.  This act becomes effective upon passage and approval. 11 
 
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