(Reprinted with amendments adopted on April 14, 2025)
FIRST REPRINT A.B. 148
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ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 148–ASSEMBLYMEMBERS
HAFEN AND YEAGER
PREFILED JANUARY 29, 2025
____________
Referred to Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections
SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to elections.
(BDR 24-770)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to elections; revising the deadline for a county or
city clerk to distribute mail ballots to each active
registered voter who resides within the State; revising the
deadline for a county or city clerk to distribute sample
ballots; and providing other matters properly relating
thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires, with certain exception, a county clerk or city clerk to 1
distribute a sample ballot to each registered voter in the county or city, as 2
applicable, before the period for early voting for any election begins. (NRS 3
293.565, 293C.530) Existing law further requires, with limited exception, the 4
county clerk or city clerk to distribute a mail ballot for every election to: (1) each 5
active registered voter; and (2) each person who registers to vote or updates his or 6
her voter registration information not later than 14 days before the election. With 7
certain exceptions, the deadline for distributing a mail ballot to: (1) each active 8
registered voter who resides within the State is not later than 20 days before the 9
election; (2) each active registered voter who resides outside the State is not later 10
than 40 days before the election; (3) each active registered voter who registers to 11
vote after certain deadlines is not later than 13 days before the election; and (4) 12
each covered voter who is entitled to have a military-overseas ballot transmitted 13
pursuant to certain provisions of federal and state law is not later than 45 days 14
before the election. (NRS 293.269911, 293C.263, 293D.320) Further, in the case of 15
a special election where no candidate for federal office will appear on the ballot, 16
mail ballots must be distributed to each active registered voter not later than 15 17
days before the special election. (NRS 293.269911, 293C.263) 18
Sections 1 and 3 of this bill revise the deadline for distributing a mail ballot to 19
each active registered voter who resides within the State from not later than 20 days 20
before the election to instead on or after the fifth Monday before the election but 21
not later than the fourth Monday before the election. Sections 2 and 4 of this bill 22
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require a county clerk or city clerk, as applicable, to distribute a sample ballot to 23
each registered voter before the applicable deadline for the clerk to distribute a mail 24
ballot to the registered voter. Section 5 of this bill makes a conforming change to 25
require sample ballots for an election relating to incorporating a city to be 26
distributed before the applicable deadline for the county clerk or registrar of voters 27
to distribute a mail ballot to a registered voter for such an election. 28
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. NRS 293.269911 is hereby amended to read as 1
follows: 2
293.269911 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, 3
the county clerk shall prepare and distribute to each active registered 4
voter in the county and each person who registers to vote or updates 5
his or her voter registration information not later than the 14 days 6
before the election a mail ballot for every election. The county clerk 7
shall make reasonable accommodations for the use of the mail ballot 8
by a person who is elderly or disabled, including, without limitation, 9
by providing, upon request, the mail ballot in 12-point type to a 10
person who is elderly or disabled. 11
2. The county clerk shall allow a voter to elect not to receive a 12
mail ballot pursuant to this section by submitting to the county clerk 13
a written notice in the form prescribed by the county clerk which 14
must be received by the county clerk not later than 60 days before 15
the day of the election. 16
3. The county clerk shall not distribute a mail ballot to any 17
person who: 18
(a) Registers to vote for the election pursuant to the provisions 19
of NRS 293.5772 to 293.5887, inclusive; or 20
(b) Elects not to receive a mail ballot pursuant to subsection 2. 21
4. The mail ballot must include all offices, candidates and 22
measures upon which the voter is entitled to vote at the election. 23
5. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2 and 3, the 24
mail ballot must be distributed to: 25
(a) Each active registered voter who: 26
(1) Resides within the State, on or after the fifth Monday 27
before the election but not later than [20 days] the fourth Monday 28
before the election; and 29
(2) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c), resides 30
outside the State, not later than 40 days before the election. 31
(b) Each active registered voter who registers to vote after the 32
dates set for distributing mail ballots pursuant to paragraph (a) but 33
who is eligible to receive a mail ballot pursuant to subsection 1, not 34
later than 13 days before the election. 35
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(c) Each covered voter who is entitled to have a military-1
overseas ballot transmitted pursuant to the provisions of chapter 2
293D of NRS or the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 3
Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. §§ 20301 et seq., not later than the time 4
required by those provisions. 5
6. In the case of a special election where no candidate for 6
federal office will appear on the ballot, the mail ballot must be 7
distributed to each active registered voter not later than 15 days 8
before the special election. 9
7. Any untimely legal action which would prevent the mail 10
ballot from being distributed to any voter pursuant to this section is 11
moot and of no effect. 12
Sec. 2. NRS 293.565 is hereby amended to read as follows: 13
293.565 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, 14
sample ballots must include: 15
(a) If applicable, the statement required by NRS 293.267; 16
(b) The fiscal note or description of anticipated financial effect, 17
as provided pursuant to NRS 218D.810, 293.250, 293.481, 295.015, 18
295.095 or 295.230 for each proposed constitutional amendment, 19
statewide measure, measure to be voted upon only by a special 20
district or political subdivision and advisory question; 21
(c) An explanation, as provided pursuant to NRS 218D.810, 22
293.250, 293.481, 295.121 or 295.230, of each proposed 23
constitutional amendment, statewide measure, measure to be voted 24
upon only by a special district or political subdivision and advisory 25
question; 26
(d) Arguments for and against each proposed constitutional 27
amendment, statewide measure, measure to be voted upon only by a 28
special district or political subdivision and advisory question, and 29
rebuttals to each argument, as provided pursuant to NRS 218D.810, 30
293.250, 293.252 or 295.121; and 31
(e) The full text of each proposed constitutional amendment. 32
2. If, pursuant to the provisions of NRS 293.2565, the word 33
“Incumbent” must appear on the ballot next to the name of the 34
candidate who is the incumbent, the word “Incumbent” must appear 35
on the sample ballot next to the name of the candidate who is the 36
incumbent. 37
3. Sample ballots that are mailed to registered voters may be 38
printed without the full text of each proposed constitutional 39
amendment if: 40
(a) The cost of printing the sample ballots would be significantly 41
reduced if the full text of each proposed constitutional amendment 42
were not included; 43
(b) The county clerk ensures that a sample ballot that includes 44
the full text of each proposed constitutional amendment is provided 45
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at no charge to each registered voter who requests such a sample 1
ballot; and 2
(c) The sample ballots provided to each polling place include the 3
full text of each proposed constitutional amendment. 4
4. A county clerk may establish a system for distributing 5
sample ballots by electronic means to each registered voter who 6
elects to receive a sample ballot by electronic means. Such a system 7
may include, without limitation, electronic mail or electronic access 8
through an Internet website. If a county clerk establishes such a 9
system and a registered voter elects to receive a sample ballot by 10
electronic means, the county clerk shall distribute the sample ballot 11
to the registered voter by electronic means pursuant to the 12
procedures and requirements set forth by regulations adopted by the 13
Secretary of State. 14
5. If a registered voter does not elect to receive a sample ballot 15
by electronic means pursuant to subsection 4, the county clerk shall 16
distribute the sample ballot to the registered voter by mail. 17
6. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 7, before the 18
[period for early voting for any election begins,] applicable 19
deadline for distributing a mail ballot to a registered voter 20
established by NRS 293.269911, the county clerk shall distribute to 21
each registered voter in the county by mail or electronic means, as 22
applicable, the sample ballot for his or her precinct, with a notice 23
informing the voter of the location of his or her polling place or 24
places. If the location of the polling place or places has changed 25
since the last election: 26
(a) The county clerk shall mail a notice of the change to each 27
registered voter in the county not sooner than 10 days before 28
distributing the sample ballots; or 29
(b) The sample ballot must also include a notice in bold type 30
immediately above the location which states: 31
32
NOTICE: THE LOCATION OF YOUR POLLING PLACE OR 33
PLACES HAS CHANGED SINCE THE LAST ELECTION 34
35
7. If a person registers to vote less than 20 days before the date 36
of an election, the county clerk is not required to distribute to the 37
person the sample ballot for that election by mail or electronic 38
means. 39
8. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 9, a sample 40
ballot required to be distributed pursuant to this section must: 41
(a) Be prepared in at least 12-point type; and 42
(b) Include on the front page, in a separate box created by bold 43
lines, a notice prepared in at least 20-point bold type that states: 44
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NOTICE: TO RECEIVE A SAMPLE BALLOT IN 1
LARGE TYPE, CALL (Insert appropriate telephone number) 2
3
9. A portion of a sample ballot that contains a facsimile of the 4
display area of a voting device may include material in less than 12-5
point type to the extent necessary to make the facsimile fit on the 6
pages of the sample ballot. 7
10. The sample ballot distributed to a person who requests a 8
sample ballot in large type by exercising the option provided 9
pursuant to NRS 293.508, or in any other manner, must be prepared 10
in at least 14-point type, or larger when practicable. 11
11. If a person requests a sample ballot in large type, the 12
county clerk shall ensure that all future sample ballots distributed to 13
that person from the county are in large type. 14
12. The county clerk shall include in each sample ballot a 15
statement indicating that the county clerk will, upon request of a 16
voter who is elderly or disabled, make reasonable accommodations 17
to allow the voter to vote at his or her polling place or places and 18
provide reasonable assistance to the voter in casting his or her vote, 19
including, without limitation, providing appropriate materials to 20
assist the voter. In addition, if the county clerk has provided 21
pursuant to subsection 4 of NRS 293.2955 for the placement at 22
centralized voting locations of specially equipped voting devices for 23
use by voters who are elderly or disabled, the county clerk shall 24
include in the sample ballot a statement indicating: 25
(a) The addresses of such centralized voting locations; 26
(b) The types of specially equipped voting devices available at 27
such centralized voting locations; and 28
(c) That a voter who is elderly or disabled may cast his or her 29
ballot at such a centralized voting location rather than at his or her 30
regularly designated polling place or places. 31
13. The cost of distributing sample ballots for any election 32
other than a primary election, presidential preference primary 33
election or general election must be borne by the political 34
subdivision holding the election. 35
Sec. 3. NRS 293C.263 is hereby amended to read as follows: 36
293C.263 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 37
city clerk shall prepare and distribute to each active registered voter 38
in the city and each person who registers to vote or updates his or 39
her voter registration information not later than the 14 days before 40
the election a mail ballot for every election. The city clerk shall 41
make reasonable accommodations for the use of the mail ballot by a 42
person who is elderly or disabled, including, without limitation, by 43
providing, upon request, the mail ballot in 12-point type to a person 44
who is elderly or disabled. 45
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2. The city clerk shall allow a voter to elect not to receive a 1
mail ballot pursuant to this section by submitting to the city clerk a 2
written notice in the form prescribed by the city clerk which must be 3
received by the city clerk not later than 60 days before the day of the 4
election. 5
3. The city clerk shall not distribute a mail ballot to any person 6
who: 7
(a) Registers to vote for the election pursuant to the provisions 8
of NRS 293.5772 to 293.5887, inclusive; or 9
(b) Elects not to receive a mail ballot pursuant to subsection 2. 10
4. The mail ballot must include all offices, candidates and 11
measures upon which the voter is entitled to vote at the election. 12
5. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2 and 3, the 13
mail ballot must be distributed to: 14
(a) Each active registered voter who: 15
(1) Resides within the State, on or after the fifth Monday 16
before the election but not later than [20 days] the fourth Monday 17
before the election; and 18
(2) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), resides 19
outside the State, not later than 40 days before the election. 20
(b) Each active registered voter who registers to vote after the 21
dates set for distributing mail ballots pursuant to paragraph (a) but 22
who is eligible to receive a mail ballot pursuant to subsection 1, not 23
later than 13 days before the election. 24
(c) Each covered voter who is entitled to have a military-25
overseas ballot transmitted pursuant to the provisions of chapter 26
293D of NRS or the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 27
Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. §§ 20301 et seq., not later than the time 28
required by those provisions. 29
6. In the case of a special election where no candidate for 30
federal office will appear on the ballot, the mail ballot must be 31
distributed to each active registered voter not later than 15 days 32
before the special election. 33
7. Any untimely legal action which would prevent the mail 34
ballot from being distributed to any voter pursuant to this section is 35
moot and of no effect. 36
Sec. 4. NRS 293C.530 is hereby amended to read as follows: 37
293C.530 1. A city clerk may establish a system for 38
distributing sample ballots by electronic means to each registered 39
voter who elects to receive a sample ballot by electronic means. 40
Such a system may include, without limitation, electronic mail or 41
electronic access through an Internet website. If a city clerk 42
establishes such a system and a registered voter elects to receive a 43
sample ballot by electronic means, the city clerk shall distribute the 44
sample ballot to the registered voter by electronic means pursuant to 45
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the procedures and requirements set forth by regulations adopted by 1
the Secretary of State. 2
2. If a registered voter does not elect to receive a sample ballot 3
by electronic means pursuant to subsection 1, the city clerk shall 4
distribute the sample ballot to the registered voter by mail. 5
3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, before the 6
[period for early voting for any election begins,] applicable 7
deadline for distributing a mail ballot to a registered voter 8
established by NRS 293C.263, the city clerk shall distribute to each 9
registered voter in the city by mail or electronic means, as 10
applicable, the sample ballot for his or her precinct, with a notice 11
informing the voter of the location of his or her polling place or 12
places. If the location of the polling place or places has changed 13
since the last election: 14
(a) The city clerk shall mail a notice of the change to each 15
registered voter in the city not sooner than 10 days before 16
distributing the sample ballots; or 17
(b) The sample ballot must also include a notice in bold type 18
immediately above the location which states: 19
20
NOTICE: THE LOCATION OF YOUR POLLING PLACE OR 21
PLACES HAS CHANGED SINCE THE LAST ELECTION 22
23
4. If a person registers to vote less than 20 days before the date 24
of an election, the city clerk is not required to distribute to the 25
person the sample ballot for that election by mail or electronic 26
means. 27
5. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 7, a sample 28
ballot required to be distributed pursuant to this section must: 29
(a) Be prepared in at least 12-point type; 30
(b) Include the description of the anticipated financial effect and 31
explanation of each citywide measure and advisory question, 32
including arguments for and against the measure or question, as 33
required pursuant to NRS 295.205 or 295.217; and 34
(c) Include on the front page, in a separate box created by bold 35
lines, a notice prepared in at least 20-point bold type that states: 36
37
NOTICE: TO RECEIVE A SAMPLE BALLOT IN 38
LARGE TYPE, CALL (Insert appropriate telephone number) 39
40
6. The word “Incumbent” must appear on the sample ballot 41
next to the name of the candidate who is the incumbent, if required 42
pursuant to NRS 293.2565. 43
7. A portion of a sample ballot that contains a facsimile of the 44
display area of a voting device may include material in less than 45
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12-point type to the extent necessary to make the facsimile fit on the 1
pages of the sample ballot. 2
8. The sample ballot distributed to a person who requests a 3
sample ballot in large type by exercising the option provided 4
pursuant to NRS 293.508, or in any other manner, must be prepared 5
in at least 14-point type, or larger when practicable. 6
9. If a person requests a sample ballot in large type, the city 7
clerk shall ensure that all future sample ballots distributed to that 8
person from the city are in large type. 9
10. The city clerk shall include in each sample ballot a 10
statement indicating that the city clerk will, upon request of a voter 11
who is elderly or disabled, make reasonable accommodations to 12
allow the voter to vote at his or her polling place or places and 13
provide reasonable assistance to the voter in casting his or her vote, 14
including, without limitation, providing appropriate materials to 15
assist the voter. In addition, if the city clerk has provided pursuant to 16
subsection 4 of NRS 293C.281 for the placement at centralized 17
voting locations of specially equipped voting devices for use by 18
voters who are elderly or disabled, the city clerk shall include in the 19
sample ballot a statement indicating: 20
(a) The addresses of such centralized voting locations; 21
(b) The types of specially equipped voting devices available at 22
such centralized voting locations; and 23
(c) That a voter who is elderly or disabled may cast his or her 24
ballot at such a centralized voting location rather than at the voter’s 25
regularly designated polling place or places. 26
11. The cost of distributing sample ballots for a city election 27
must be borne by the city holding the election. 28
Sec. 5. NRS 266.0325 is hereby amended to read as follows: 29
266.0325 1. [At least 10 days before] Before the applicable 30
deadline for distributing mail ballots for an election held pursuant 31
to NRS 266.029, the county clerk or registrar of voters shall 32
distribute to each qualified elector by mail or electronic means, as 33
applicable, a sample ballot for the elector’s precinct with a notice 34
informing the elector of the location of the polling place for that 35
precinct. A sample ballot may be distributed by electronic means to 36
an elector only if the county clerk has established a system for 37
distributing sample ballots by electronic means pursuant to NRS 38
293.565 and the elector elects to receive a sample ballot by 39
electronic means. 40
2. The sample ballot must: 41
(a) Be in the form required by NRS 266.032. 42
(b) Include the information required by NRS 266.032. 43
(c) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, be prepared in 44
at least 12-point type. 45
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(d) Describe the area proposed to be incorporated by assessor’s 1
parcel maps, existing boundaries of subdivision or parcel maps, 2
identifying visible ground features, extensions of the visible ground 3
features, or by any boundary that coincides with the official 4
boundary of the State, a county, a city, a township, a section or any 5
combination thereof. 6
(e) Contain a copy of the map or plat that was submitted with 7
the petition pursuant to NRS 266.019 and depicts the existing 8
dedicated streets, sewer interceptors and outfalls and their proposed 9
extensions. 10
(f) Include on the front page, in a separate box created by bold 11
lines, a notice prepared in at least 20-point bold type that states: 12
13
NOTICE: TO RECEIVE A SAMPLE BALLOT IN 14
LARGE TYPE, CALL (Insert appropriate telephone number) 15
16
3. A portion of a sample ballot that contains a facsimile of the 17
display area of a voting device may include material in less than 12-18
point type to the extent necessary to make the facsimile fit on the 19
pages of the sample ballot. 20
4. The sample ballot distributed to a person who requests a 21
sample ballot in large type by exercising the option provided 22
pursuant to NRS 293.508, or in any other manner, must be prepared 23
in at least 14-point type, or larger when practicable. 24
5. If a person requests a sample ballot in large type, the county 25
clerk shall ensure that all future sample ballots distributed to that 26
person from the county are in large type. 27
H