EXEMPT
(Reprinted with amendments adopted on May 30, 2023)
SECOND REPRINT A.B. 246
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ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 246–ASSEMBLYMEN TORRES, MARZOLA, WATTS,
GONZÁLEZ; ANDERSON, BACKUS, BILBRAY-AXELROD,
BROWN-MAY, CARTER, COHEN, CONSIDINE, D’SILVA, DURAN,
BRITTNEY MILLER, C.H. MILLER, MONROE-MORENO, MOSCA,
NEWBY, NGUYEN, PETERS, SUMMERS-ARMSTRONG AND
TAYLOR
MARCH 3, 2023
____________
Referred to Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections
SUMMARY—Revises provisions governing elections. (BDR 24-821)
FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.
CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§§ 5, 6, 8, 11-13, 18, 21, 26, 27)
(NOT REQUESTED BY AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT)
~
EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.
AN ACT relating to elections; requiring, under certain circumstances, the
Secretary of State, county clerks and city clerks to ensure that voting
materials and certain other elections information are posted on
certain Internet websites and made available in certain languages;
requiring the Secretary of State to establish a toll-free telephone
number which may be used for a person to receive language
interpretation or translation assistance relating to an election;
requiring such telephone number to be posted at each polling place
and on certain Internet websites and included on sample ballots;
requiring the Secretary of State to include certain information related
to a registered voter’s preferred language on an application to
register to vote; requiring county and city clerks to make a good faith
effort to appoint election board officers who are bilingual; revising
the information relating to registered voters that is required to be
included on the statewide voter registration list; requiring, under
certain circumstances, a mechanical voting system to list offices,
candidates and ballot measures in a voter’s preferred language;
creating and setting forth the membership and duties of the
Language Access Advisory Committee; making an appropriation to
the Office of the Secretary of State for certain expenses relating to
language access and the establishment of a toll-free telephone
number; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.
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Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires each voting system used by a county or city to provide 1
voting materials in English and every language in which voting materials are 2
required to be prepared pursuant to federal law. (52 U.S.C. § 10503; NRS 3
293.2699) Section 5 of this bill requires the Secretary of State to ensure that voting 4
materials and other elections information are posted or made available at a polling 5
place in certain languages. Section 5 further requires the Secretary of State, on or 6
before January 1 of each odd-numbered year, to review certain data on persons who 7
are members of a minority group and are of limited-English proficiency in the 8
State. Based on the review of such data, under certain circumstances, the Secretary 9
of State and certain county and city clerks are required to ensure that voting 10
materials and other information are provided in certain other languages. Sections 11
11-16, 18, 19 and 26-28.5 of this bill make conforming changes to require that 12
certain elections materials be available in such languages. 13
Section 37.5 of this bill requires the Secretary of State to review certain data in 14
sufficient time for voting materials to be prepared for the 2024 General Election. 15
Sections 2-4 of this bill, respectively, define the terms “limited-English 16
proficiency,” “minority group” and “voting materials.” Section 9 of this bill makes 17
a conforming change to indicate the proper placement of sections 2-4 in the Nevada 18
Revised Statutes. 19
Section 6 of this bill requires the Secretary of State and authorizes a county 20
clerk to establish a toll-free telephone number which may be used by any person to 21
receive language interpretation or translation assistance relating to an election. 22
Sections 7, 14-16, 18, 22, 27 and 28 of this bill require each polling place, sample 23
ballot and Internet website of the county or city clerk, as applicable, to include such 24
telephone number. 25
Section 8 of this bill requires the Secretary of State to include on all forms for 26
an application to preregister or register to vote certain language authorizing a 27
person who registers to vote to request a sample ballot in a language other than 28
English. 29
Existing law requires each county and city clerk to appoint registered voters to 30
act as election board officers for the various polling places in the county or city, as 31
applicable. (NRS 293.217, 293C.220) Sections 10 and 25 of this bill require the 32
county or city clerk to make a good faith effort to appoint election board officers 33
who are bilingual. 34
Existing law requires the Secretary of State to prescribe forms for applications 35
to preregister or register to vote. (NRS 293.507) Section 17 of this bill requires the 36
Secretary of State to include on each such application a line on which to enter the 37
applicant’s state or country of birth and a language preference. Section 20 of this 38
bill requires such information to be included on the statewide voter registration list. 39
Existing law requires the Secretary of State to establish a system on the Internet 40
website of the Office of the Secretary of State to allow persons by computer to 41
preregister and register to vote, cancel such preregistration or registration, update 42
such preregistration or registration and determine at what polling place or places he 43
or she is entitled to vote. The system is required to be user friendly. (NRS 293.671) 44
Section 19 of this bill requires the system to also be accessible in each language in 45
which the Secretary of State is required to provide information and voting materials 46
pursuant to section 5. 47
Section 21 of this bill provides that if the mechanical voting system used in a 48
county or city is capable of providing a registered voter’s ballot in the preferred 49
language of the voter other than English, the county or city clerk, as applicable, 50
shall ensure that the list of offices and candidates and the statement of ballot 51
measures for which the voter is entitled to vote is in that preferred language. 52
Section 34 of this bill creates the Language Access Advisory Committee within 53
the Office of the Secretary of State, consisting of the Secretary of State or his or her 54
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designee, and certain other members. Section 35 of this bill requires the Advisory 55
Committee to: (1) identify certain programs and services that address language 56
accessibility of elections and voting materials; (2) coordinate with community 57
organizations to determine language accessibility of elections and voting materials; 58
(3) act as a liaison between the Office of the Secretary of State and community 59
organizations; (4) make certain annual assessments relating to language 60
accessibility; and (5) make certain recommendations to the Office of the Secretary 61
of State relating to language accessibility. Section 36 of this bill sets forth certain 62
requirements for meetings of the Advisory Committee. Section 37 of this bill: (1) 63
requires the Secretary of State to appoint the initial members of the Advisory 64
Committee before January 1, 2024; and (2) staggers the terms of the initial 65
members. 66
Section 36.7 of this bill makes an appropriation to the Office of the Secretary 67
of State to carry out certain provisions of this bill relating to language access and 68
the establishment of the toll-free telephone number required pursuant to section 6. 69
Sections 23 and 24 of this bill make conforming changes to indicate the proper 70
placement of section 22 in the Nevada Revised Statutes. 71
Section 29 of this bill makes a conforming change to indicate the proper 72
placement of section 7 in the Nevada Revised Statutes. 73
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 8, inclusive, of this 2
act. 3
Sec. 2. “Limited-English proficiency” means being unable to 4
speak or understand English adequately to participate in the 5
electoral process. 6
Sec. 3. “Minority group” includes, without limitation, United 7
States citizens of Chinese heritage. 8
Sec. 4. “Voting materials” means the following written 9
materials: 10
1. Applications to preregister or register to vote; 11
2. Ballots and the instructions for the use of such ballots, 12
including, without limitation, mail ballots, sample ballots and 13
provisional ballots; 14
3. Voting instructions; 15
4. Information and instructions relating to the location of 16
polling places, including, without limitation, vote centers, 17
permanent polling places for early voting and temporary branch 18
polling places and the hours during which such polling places will 19
be open; 20
5. Any notices required to be provided for an election 21
pursuant to title 24 of NRS; 22
6. Ballot questions; 23
7. Any forms prepared for an election to assist voters; and 24
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8. Any other voting materials the Secretary of State requires 1
to be translated by a regulation adopted pursuant to section 5 of 2
this act. 3
Sec. 5. 1. The Secretary of State shall ensure that voting 4
materials and other elections information that is posted on the 5
Internet website of the Office of the Secretary of State or the 6
system of approved electronic transmission established pursuant to 7
NRS 293D.200 is available on such website and system of 8
approved electronic transmission in any language in which voting 9
materials are required to be prepared pursuant to 52 U.S.C. § 10
10503. If any such language does not have a standard writing 11
system, the information required to be posted must be set forth in 12
an audio recording in the language. Except as otherwise provided 13
in this subsection, the Secretary of State shall use a translator who 14
is certified in the specific language to translate the information 15
required pursuant to this subsection. If such a certified translator 16
is not available to translate the information required pursuant to 17
this subsection, the Secretary of State shall make a continuous 18
effort to find such a certified translator or coordinate with the 19
minority group for translation assistance. 20
2. Each county clerk and city clerk shall ensure that the 21
Internet website of the county or city clerk, as applicable, has 22
posted in a prominent location a link to the information on the 23
website of the Office of the Secretary of State required pursuant to 24
subsection 1. 25
3. The Secretary of State shall, on or before January 1 of 26
each odd-numbered year, review data on persons who are 27
members of a minority group and are of limited-English 28
proficiency in the State, based on the American Community 29
Survey conducted by the Bureau of the Census of the United 30
States Department of Commerce or language preference 31
information collected by the Secretary of State. In addition to the 32
requirements set forth in subsections 1 and 2, if, based on such 33
data: 34
(a) The Secretary of State finds that there are at least 5,000 35
qualified electors in this State who are members of a minority 36
group and are of limited-English proficiency, the Secretary of 37
State shall ensure that voting materials and other elections 38
information that are posted on the Internet website of the Office of 39
the Secretary of State or set forth in the system of approved 40
electronic transmission established pursuant to NRS 293D.200 are 41
available in the language or languages of the minority group. If 42
any such language does not have a standard writing system, the 43
information required to be posted or made available must be set 44
forth in an audio recording in the language. Except as otherwise 45
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provided in this paragraph, the Secretary of State shall use a 1
translator who is certified in the specific language to translate the 2
information required pursuant to this paragraph. If such a 3
certified translator is not available to translate the information 4
required pursuant to this paragraph, the Secretary of State shall 5
make a continuous effort to find such a certified translator or 6
coordinate with the minority group for translation assistance. 7
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the 8
Secretary of State finds that there are at least 20,000 qualified 9
electors in this State who are members of a minority group and are 10
of limited-English proficiency, the Secretary of State shall 11
collaborate with each county clerk to ensure that voting materials 12
and other elections information that are required to be posted or 13
made available at a polling place or on the Internet website of the 14
county clerk are posted or available in the language or languages 15
of the minority group. If any such language does not have a 16
standard writing system, the information required to be posted or 17
made available must be set forth in an audio recording in the 18
language. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, the 19
Secretary of State shall use a translator who is certified in 20
the specific language to translate the information required 21
pursuant to this paragraph. If such a certified translator is not 22
available to translate the information required pursuant to this 23
paragraph, the Secretary of State shall make a continuous effort 24
to find such a certified translator or coordinate with the minority 25
group for translation assistance. The cost of preparing and 26
providing voting materials and other elections information in any 27
language required pursuant to this paragraph is a charge against 28
the State and must be paid from the Reserve for Statutory 29
Contingency Account upon recommendation by the Secretary of 30
State and approval by the State Board of Examiners. The 31
provisions of this paragraph do not apply to the extent that a 32
county clerk is required pursuant to paragraph (c) to ensure that 33
voting materials and other elections information that are required 34
to be posted or made available at a polling place or on the Internet 35
website of the county clerk are posted or available in the language 36
or languages of the minority group. 37
(c) The Secretary of State finds that there are at least 5,000 38
qualified electors in a county who are members of a minority 39
group and are of limited-English proficiency, the Secretary of 40
State shall notify the county clerk and the county clerk shall 41
ensure that voting materials and other elections information that 42
are required to be posted or made available at a polling place or 43
on the Internet website of the county clerk are posted or available 44
in the language or languages of the minority group. If any such 45
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language does not have a standard writing system, the information 1
required to be posted or made available must be set forth in an 2
audio recording in the language. Except as otherwise provided in 3
this paragraph, the county clerk shall use a translator who is 4
certified in the specific language to translate the information 5
required pursuant to this paragraph. If such a certified translator 6
is not available to translate the information required pursuant to 7
this paragraph, the county clerk shall make a continuous effort to 8
find such a certified translator or coordinate with the minority 9
group for translation assistance. 10
(d) The Secretary of State finds that there are at least 5,000 11
qualified electors in a city who are members of a minority group 12
and are of limited-English proficiency, the Secretary of State shall 13
notify the city clerk and the city clerk shall ensure that voting 14
materials and other elections information that are required to be 15
posted or made available at a polling place or on the Internet 16
website of the city clerk are posted or available in the language or 17
languages of the minority group. If any such language does not 18
have a standard writing system, the information required to be 19
posted or made available must be set forth in an audio recording 20
in the language. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, 21
the city clerk shall use a translator who is certified in the specific 22
language to translate the information required pursuant to this 23
paragraph. If such a certified translator is not available to 24
translate the information required pursuant to this paragraph, the 25
city clerk shall make a continuous effort to find such a certified 26
translator or coordinate with the minority group for translation 27
assistance. 28
4. The Secretary of State may adopt regulations requiring any 29
additional voting material that must be translated pursuant to this 30
section. 31
Sec. 6. 1. The Secretary of State shall: 32
(a) Establish a toll-free telephone number which may be used 33
by any person in this State to receive language interpretation or 34
translation assistance relating to an election, including, without 35
limitation, voter registration or other voter assistance; and 36
(b) Post the toll-free telephone number established pursuant to 37
paragraph (a) on the Internet website of the Office of the 38
Secretary of State. 39
2. A county clerk: 40
(a) May establish a toll-free telephone number which may be 41
used by any person in the county to receive language 42
interpretation or translation assistance relating to an election, 43
including, without limitation, voter registration or other voter 44
assistance; and 45
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(b) If such a toll-free telephone number is established 1
pursuant to paragraph (a), post the toll-free telephone number on 2
the Internet website of the county clerk. 3
3. Each county and city clerk shall post the toll-free 4
telephone number established by the Secretary of State pursuant 5
to subsection 1 on the Internet website of the county or city clerk, 6
as applicable. 7
Sec. 7. The county clerk shall ensure that at each polling 8
place for early voting the toll-free telephone number established 9
by the Secretary of State and, if applicable, the toll-free number 10
established by the county clerk pursuant to section 6 of this act for 11
a voter to receive voter registration and other voter assistance 12
during the period for early voting is posted in a conspicuous place. 13
Sec. 8. 1. The Secretary of State shall include on all forms 14
for an application to preregister or register to vote prescribed by 15
the Secretary of State, including, without limitation, a paper 16
application and the form set forth on the system established by the 17
Secretary of State pursuant to NRS 293.671 to allow persons to 18
register to vote by computer, the following language in at least 14-19
point bold type: 20
21
[ ] CHECK THIS BOX TO RECEIVE A SAMPLE 22
BALLOT IN A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN 23
ENGLISH AND INCLUDE THE PREFERRED 24
LANGUAGE HERE __________ 25
26
PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL LANGUAGES 27
ARE AVAILABLE, BUT LANGUAGE INFORMATION 28
THAT IS COLLECTED WILL HELP DETERMINE THE 29
LANGUAGE NEEDS OF VOTERS AND THE SERVICES 30
PROVIDED BY THE STATE, COUNTY AND CITY. 31
32
2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the county 33
clerk and city clerk of the county and city where the voter is 34
registered to vote must provide the voter who has indicated a 35
preferred language other than English with a sample ballot in the 36
preferred language. If, pursuant to section 5 of this act, a county 37
or city clerk is not required to provide voting materials in the 38
preferred language of the voter, the county or city clerk, as 39
applicable, must provide the voter with a sample ballot in English 40
until the clerk is required, pursuant to section 5 of this act, to 41
provide voting materials in such language. 42
Sec. 9. NRS 293.010 is hereby amended to read as follows: 43
293.010 As used in this title, unless the context otherwise 44
requires, the words and terms defined in NRS 293.016 to 293.121, 45
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inclusive, and sections 2, 3 and 4 of this act, have the meanings 1
ascribed to them in those sections. 2
Sec. 10. NRS 293.217 is hereby amended to read as follows: 3
293.217 1. The county clerk of each county shall appoint and 4
notify registered voters to act as election board officers for the 5
various polling places in the county as provided in NRS 293.220 to 6
293.227, inclusive, and NRS 293.269929. The county clerk shall 7
make a good faith effort to appoint election board officers who are 8
bilingual in a language that voting materials are required to be 9
provided in pursuant to section 5 of this act. The registered voters 10
appointed as election board officers for any polling place must not 11
all be of the same political party. No candidate for nomination or 12
election or a relative of the candidate within the second degree of 13
consanguinity or affinity may be appointed as an election board 14
officer. Immediately after election board officers are appointed, if 15
requested by the county clerk, the sheriff shall: 16
(a) Appoint a deputy sheriff for each polling place in the county 17
and for the central election board or the mail ballot central counting 18
board; or 19
(b) Deputize as a deputy sheriff for the election an election 20
board officer of each polling place in the county and for the central 21
election board or the mail ballot central counting board. The 22
deputized officer shall receive no additional compensation for 23
services rendered as a deputy sheriff during the election for which 24
the officer is deputized. 25
Deputy sheriffs so appointed and deputized shall preserve order 26
during hours of voting and attend closing of the polls. 27
2. The county clerk may appoint a trainee for the position of 28
election board officer as set forth in NRS 293.2175. 29
Sec. 11. NRS 293.2549 is hereby amended to read as follows: 30
293.2549 1. The Secretary of State, each county clerk and 31
each city clerk shall: 32
(a) Make the Voters’ Bill of Rights readily available to the 33
public; 34
(b) Maintain a copy of the Voters’ Bill of Rights in his or her 35
office for reproduction and distribution to the public; [and] 36
(c) Ensure that the Voters’ Bill of Rights is posted in a 37
conspicuous place, in at least 12-point type, at each polling place [.] 38
; and 39
(d) Ensure that the Voters’ Bill of Rights is available in all of 40
the languages that voting materials are required to be provided in 41
pursuant to section 5 of this act. 42
2. The Secretary of State shall ensure that the Voters’ Bill of 43
Rights is posted on the Secretary of State’s Internet website [.] and 44
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available in all of the languages that voting materials are required 1
to be provided in pursuant to section 5 of this act. 2
Sec. 12. NRS 293.2699 is hereby amended to read as follows: 3
293.2699 1. Each voting system used by a county or city 4
shall provide voting materials in: 5
(a) English; [and] 6
(b) Every language in which voting materials are required to be 7
prepared in the county or city pursuant to 52 U.S.C. § 10503 [.] ; 8
and 9
(c) Every other language in which voting materials are 10
required to be prepared in the county or city pursuant to section 5 11
of this act. 12
2. In addition to the requirements set forth in subsection 1, if a 13
county clerk or city clerk determines that there is a significant and 14
substantial need for voting materials of the county or city, as 15
applicable, to be provided in the language or languages of a 16
minority group, the county clerk or city clerk may prepare voting 17
materials in such language or languages. For the purposes of this 18
subsection, there is a significant and substantial need for voting 19
materials to be provided in the language or languages of a minority 20
group if, without limitation, the minority group has been subject to 21
historical discrimination and unequal educational opportunities, and, 22
as a result, members of the minority group are of limited-English 23
proficiency. 24
[3. As used in this section: 25
(a) “Limited-English proficiency” means being unable to speak 26
or understand English adequately to participate in the electoral 27
process. 28
(b) “Minority group” includes, without limitation, United States 29
citizens of Chinese heritage. 30
(c) “Voting materials” has the meaning ascribed to it in 52 31
U.S.C. § 10503.] 32
Sec. 13. NRS 293.269911 is hereby amended to read as 33
follows: 34
293.269911 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, 35
the county clerk shall prepare and distribute to each active registered 36
voter in the county and each person who registers to vote or updates 37
his or her voter registration information not later than the 14 days 38
before the election a mail ballot for every election. The county clerk 39
shall make reasonable accommodations for the use of the mail ballot 40
by a person who is elderly or disabled, including, without limitation, 41
by providing, upon request, the mail ballot in 12-point type to a 42
person who is elderly or disabled. If a county clerk is required to 43
provide voting materials pursuant to section 5 of this act in a 44
language that a registered voter has indicated is his or her 45
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preferred language, the county clerk shall prepare and distribute a 1
mail ballot and all relevant materials and instructions for voting 2
the mail ballot in the preferred language of the voter. 3
2. The county clerk shall allow a voter to elect not to receive a 4
mail ballot pursuant to this section by submitting to the county clerk 5
a written notice in the form prescribed by the county clerk which 6
must be received by the county clerk not later than 60 days before 7
the day of the election. 8
3. The county clerk shall not distribute a mail ballot to any 9
person who: 10
(a) Registers to vote for the election pursuant to the provisions 11
of NRS 293.5772 to 293.5887, inclusive; or 12
(b) Elects not to receive a mail ballot pursuant to subsection 2. 13
4. The mail ballot must include all offices, candidates and 14
measures upon which the voter is entitled to vote at the election. 15
5. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2 and 3, the 16
mail ballot must be distributed to: 17
(a) Each active registered voter who: 18
(1) Resides within the State, not later than 20 days before the 19
election; and 20
(2) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (c), resides 21
outside the State, not later than 40 days before the election. 22
(b) Each active registered voter who registers to vote after the 23
dates set for distributing mail ballots pursuant to paragraph (a) but 24
who is eligible to receive a mail ballot pursuant to subsection 1, not 25
later than 13 days before the election. 26
(c) Each covered voter who is entitled to have a military-27
overseas ballot transmitted pursuant to the provisions of chapter 28
293D of NRS or the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 29
Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. §§ 20301 et seq., not later than the time 30
required by those provisions. 31
6. In the case of a special election where no candidate for 32
federal office will appear on the ballot, the mail ballot must be 33
distributed to each active registered voter not later than 15 days 34
before the special election. 35
7. Any untimely legal action which would prevent the mail 36
ballot from being distributed to any voter pursuant to this section is 37
moot and of no effect. 38
Sec. 14. NRS 293.3025 is hereby amended to read as follows: 39
293.3025 The Secretary of State and each county and city clerk 40
shall ensure that a copy of each of the following is posted in a 41
conspicuous place at each polling place on election day: 42
1. A sample ballot; 43
2. Information concerning the date and hours of operation of 44
the polling place; 45
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3. Instructions for voting and casting a ballot, including a 1
provisional ballot pursuant to NRS 293.3078 to 293.3086, inclusive, 2
or a provisional ballot pursuant to NRS 293.5772 to 293.5887, 3
inclusive; 4
4. Instructions concerning the identification required for 5
persons who registered by mail or computer and are first-time voters 6
for federal office in this State; 7
5. Information concerning the accessibility of polling places to 8
persons with disabilities; 9
6. Instructions concerning how a registered voter may obtain 10
a copy of voting materials in each of the languages that voting 11
materials are required to be prepared in pursuant to section 5 of 12
this act; 13
7. The toll-free telephone number established by the 14
Secretary of State and, if applicable, the toll-free number 15
established by the county clerk pursuant to section 6 of this act for 16
obtaining language interpretation or translation assistance 17
relating to the election; 18
8. General information concerning federal and state laws which 19
prohibit acts of fraud and misrepresentation; and 20
[7.] 9. Information concerning the eligibility of a candidate, a 21
ballot question or any other matter appearing on the ballot as a result 22
of a judicial determination or by operation of law, if any. 23
Sec. 15. NRS 293.4687 is hereby amended to read as follows: 24
293.4687 1. The Secretary of State shall maintain a website 25
on the Internet for public information maintained, collected or 26
compiled by the Secretary of State that relates to elections, which 27
must include, without limitation: 28
(a) The Voters’ Bill of Rights required to be posted on the 29
Secretary of State’s Internet website pursuant to the provisions of 30
NRS 293.2549; 31
(b) The abstract of votes required to be posted on a website 32
pursuant to the provisions of NRS 293.388; 33
(c) A current list of the registered voters in this State that also 34
indicates the petition district in which each registered voter resides; 35
(d) A map or maps indicating the boundaries of each petition 36
district; [and] 37
(e) All reports submitted to the Secretary of State pursuant to the 38
provisions of chapter 294A of NRS [.] ; and 39
(f) The toll-free telephone number established by the Secretary 40
of State pursuant to section 6 of this act. 41
2. The information required to be maintained by the 42
Secretary of State pursuant to subsection 1 shall be available in all 43
of the languages that voting materials are required to be prepared 44
in pursuant to section 5 of this act. 45
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3. The abstract of votes required to be maintained on the 1
website pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 must be 2
maintained in such a format as to permit the searching of the 3
abstract of votes for specific information. 4
[3.] 4. If the information required to be maintained by the 5
Secretary of State pursuant to subsection 1 may be obtained by the 6
public from a website on the Internet maintained by a county clerk 7
or city clerk, the Secretary of State may provide a hyperlink to that 8
website to comply with the provisions of subsection 1 with regard to 9
that information. 10
Sec. 16. NRS 293.4689 is hereby amended to read as follows: 11
293.4689 1. If a county clerk maintains a website on the 12
Internet for information related to elections, the website must 13
contain public information maintained, collected or compiled by the 14
county clerk that relates to elections, which must include, without 15
limitation: 16
(a) The locations of polling places for casting a ballot on 17
election day in such a format that a registered voter may search the 18
list to determine the location of the polling place or places at which 19
the registered voter is entitled to cast a ballot; [and] 20
(b) The abstract of votes required pursuant to the provisions of 21
NRS 293.388 [.] ; and 22
(c) The toll-free telephone number established by the Secretary 23
of State and, if applicable, the toll-free number established by the 24
county clerk pursuant to section 6 of this act. 25
2. The abstract of votes required to be maintained on the 26
website pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 must be 27
maintained in such a format as to permit the searching of the 28
abstract of votes for specific information. 29
3. The information required to be maintained by a county 30
clerk pursuant to subsection 1 shall be available on the website in 31
all of the languages that voting materials are required to be 32
prepared in the county pursuant to section 5 of this act. 33
4. If the information required to be maintained by a county 34
clerk pursuant to subsection 1 may be obtained by the public from a 35
website on the Internet maintained by the Secretary of State, another 36
county clerk or a city clerk, the county clerk may provide a 37
hyperlink to that website to comply with the provisions of 38
subsection 1 with regard to that information. 39
Sec. 17. NRS 293.507 is hereby amended to read as follows: 40
293.507 1. The Secretary of State shall prescribe: 41
(a) Standard forms for applications to preregister or register to 42
vote; 43
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(b) Special forms for preregistration and registration to be used 1
in a county where registrations are performed and records of 2
registration are kept by computer; and 3
(c) A standard form for the affidavit described in subsection 5. 4
2. The county clerks shall provide forms for applications to 5
preregister or register to vote to field registrars in the form and 6
number prescribed by the Secretary of State. 7
3. Each form for an application to preregister or register to vote 8
must include a: 9
(a) Unique control number assigned by the Secretary of State; 10
and 11
(b) Receipt which: 12
(1) Includes a space for a person assisting an applicant in 13
completing the form to enter the person’s name; and 14
(2) May be retained by the applicant upon completion of the 15
form. 16
4. The form for an application to preregister or register to vote 17
must include: 18
(a) A line for use by the applicant to enter: 19
(1) The number indicated on the applicant’s current and valid 20
driver’s license issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, if the 21
applicant has such a driver’s license; 22
(2) The last four digits of the applicant’s social security 23
number, if the applicant does not have a driver’s license issued by 24
the Department of Motor Vehicles and does have a social security 25
number; or 26
(3) The number issued to the applicant pursuant to subsection 27
5, if the applicant does not have a current and valid driver’s license 28
issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles or a social security 29
number. 30
(b) A line on which to enter the address at which the applicant 31
actually resides, as set forth in NRS 293.486. 32
(c) A notice that the applicant may not list a business as the 33
address required pursuant to paragraph (b) unless the applicant 34
actually resides there. 35
(d) A line on which to enter an address at which the applicant 36
may receive mail, including, without limitation, a post office box or 37
general delivery. 38
(e) A line on which to enter the applicant’s state or country of 39
birth and a language preference. 40
5. If an applicant does not have the identification set forth in 41
subparagraph (1) or (2) of paragraph (a) of subsection 4, the 42
applicant shall sign an affidavit stating that he or she does not have a 43
current and valid driver’s license issued by the Department of Motor 44
Vehicles or a social security number. Upon receipt of the affidavit, 45
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the county clerk shall issue an identification number to the applicant 1
which must be the same number as the unique identifier assigned to 2
the applicant for purposes of the statewide voter registration list. 3
6. The Secretary of State shall adopt regulations to carry out 4
the provisions of subsections 3, 4 and 5. 5
Sec. 18. NRS 293.565 is hereby amended to read as follows: 6
293.565 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 3, 7
sample ballots must include: 8
(a) If applicable, the statement required by NRS 293.267; 9
(b) The fiscal note or description of anticipated financial effect, 10
as provided pursuant to NRS 218D.810, 293.250, 293.481, 295.015, 11
295.095 or 295.230 for each proposed constitutional amendment, 12
statewide measure, measure to be voted upon only by a special 13
district or political subdivision and advisory question; 14
(c) An explanation, as provided pursuant to NRS 218D.810, 15
293.250, 293.481, 295.121 or 295.230, of each proposed 16
constitutional amendment, statewide measure, measure to be voted 17
upon only by a special district or political subdivision and advisory 18
question; 19
(d) Arguments for and against each proposed constitutional 20
amendment, statewide measure, measure to be voted upon only by a 21
special district or political subdivision and advisory question, and 22
rebuttals to each argument, as provided pursuant to NRS 218D.810, 23
293.250, 293.252 or 295.121; and 24
(e) The full text of each proposed constitutional amendment. 25
2. If, pursuant to the provisions of NRS 293.2565, the word 26
“Incumbent” must appear on the ballot next to the name of the 27
candidate who is the incumbent, the word “Incumbent” must appear 28
on the sample ballot next to the name of the candidate who is the 29
incumbent. 30
3. Sample ballots that are mailed to registered voters may be 31
printed without the full text of each proposed constitutional 32
amendment if: 33
(a) The cost of printing the sample ballots would be significantly 34
reduced if the full text of each proposed constitutional amendment 35
were not included; 36
(b) The county clerk ensures that a sample ballot that includes 37
the full text of each proposed constitutional amendment is provided 38
at no charge to each registered voter who requests such a sample 39
ballot; and 40
(c) The sample ballots provided to each polling place include the 41
full text of each proposed constitutional amendment. 42
4. A county clerk may establish a system for distributing 43
sample ballots by electronic means to each registered voter who 44
elects to receive a sample ballot by electronic means. Such a system 45
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may include, without limitation, electronic mail or electronic access 1
through an Internet website. If a county clerk establishes such a 2
system and a registered voter elects to receive a sample ballot by 3
electronic means, the county clerk shall distribute the sample ballot 4
to the registered voter by electronic means pursuant to the 5
procedures and requirements set forth by regulations adopted by the 6
Secretary of State. 7
5. If a registered voter does not elect to receive a sample ballot 8
by electronic means pursuant to subsection 4, the county clerk shall 9
distribute the sample ballot to the registered voter by mail. 10
6. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 7, before the 11
period for early voting for any election begins, the county clerk shall 12
distribute to each registered voter in the county by mail or electronic 13
means, as applicable, the sample ballot for his or her precinct, with a 14
notice informing the voter of the location of his or her polling place 15
or places. If the location of the polling place or places has changed 16
since the last election: 17
(a) The county clerk shall mail a notice of the change to each 18
registered voter in the county not sooner than 10 days before 19
distributing the sample ballots; or 20
(b) The sample ballot must also include a notice in bold type 21
immediately above the location which states: 22
23
NOTICE: THE LOCATION OF YOUR POLLING PLACE OR 24
PLACES HAS CHANGED SINCE THE LAST ELECTION 25
26
7. If a person registers to vote less than 20 days before the date 27
of an election, the county clerk is not required to distribute to the 28
person the sample ballot for that election by mail or electronic 29
means. 30
8. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 9, a sample 31
ballot required to be distributed pursuant to this section must: 32
(a) Be prepared in at least 12-point type . [; and] 33
(b) Include on the front page, in a separate box created by bold 34
lines, a notice prepared in at least 20-point bold type that states: 35
36
NOTICE: TO RECEIVE A SAMPLE BALLOT IN 37
LARGE TYPE, CALL (Insert appropriate telephone number) 38
39
(c) Include on the front page, in a separate box created by bold 40
lines, a notice that states: 41
42
NOTICE: TO RECEIVE A SAMPLE BALLOT IN 43
A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH, CALL 44
(Insert appropriate telephone number) 45
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PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL LANGUAGES 1
ARE AVAILABLE, BUT LANGUAGE INFORMATION 2
THAT IS COLLECTED WILL HELP DETERMINE THE 3
LANGUAGE NEEDS OF VOTERS AND THE SERVICES 4
PROVIDED BY THE STATE AND COUNTY 5
6
9. A portion of a sample ballot that contains a facsimile of the 7
display area of a voting device may include material in less than 12-8
point type to the extent necessary to make the facsimile fit on the 9
pages of the sample ballot. 10
10. The sample ballot distributed to a person who requests a 11
sample ballot in large type by exercising the option provided 12
pursuant to NRS 293.508, or in any other manner, must be prepared 13
in at least 14-point type, or larger when practicable. 14
11. If a person requests a sample ballot in large type, the 15
county clerk shall ensure that all future sample ballots distributed to 16
that person from the county are in large type. 17
12. If a person requests a sample ballot in a language other 18
than English and the county clerk is required to provide voting 19
materials in such language pursuant to section 5 of this act, the 20
county clerk shall ensure that all sample ballots distributed to that 21
person in the future are provided in the preferred language. If, 22
pursuant to section 5 of this act, a county clerk is not required to 23
provide voting materials in the preferred language of the voter, the 24
county clerk must provide the voter with a sample ballot in 25
English until the clerk is required, pursuant to section 5 of this 26
act, to provide voting materials in such language. 27
13. The county clerk shall ensure that a sample ballot is 28
available at each polling place, including, without limitation, a 29
polling place for early voting in each language in which the 30
county clerk is required to provide information and voting 31
materials pursuant to section 5 of this act. 32
14. The county clerk shall include in each sample ballot a 33
statement indicating that the county clerk will, upon request of a 34
voter who is elderly or disabled, make reasonable accommodations 35
to allow the voter to vote at his or her polling place or places and 36
provide reasonable assistance to the voter in casting his or her vote, 37
including, without limitation, providing appropriate materials to 38
assist the voter. In addition, if the county clerk has provided 39
pursuant to subsection 4 of NRS 293.2955 for the placement at 40
centralized voting locations of specially equipped voting devices for 41
use by voters who are elderly or disabled, the county clerk shall 42
include in the sample ballot a statement indicating: 43
(a) The addresses of such centralized voting locations; 44
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(b) The types of specially equipped voting devices available at 1
such centralized voting locations; and 2
(c) That a voter who is elderly or disabled may cast his or her 3
ballot at such a centralized voting location rather than at his or her 4
regularly designated polling place or places. 5
[13.] 15. The cost of distributing sample ballots for any 6
election other than a primary election, presidential preference 7
primary election or general election must be borne by the political 8
subdivision holding the election. 9
Sec. 19. NRS 293.671 is hereby amended to read as follows: 10
293.671 1. The Secretary of State shall establish a system on 11
the Internet website of the Office of the Secretary of State to allow 12
persons by computer to: 13
(a) Preregister and register to vote; 14
(b) Cancel his or her preregistration or voter registration; 15
(c) Update his or her preregistration or voter registration 16
information, including, without limitation, the person’s name, 17
address , [and] party affiliation [;] and language preference; and 18
(d) Determine at what polling place or places he or she is 19
entitled to vote. 20
2. The system established pursuant to subsection 1 must: 21
(a) Be user friendly; 22
(b) Be accessible in each language in which the Secretary of 23
State is required to provide information and voting materials 24
pursuant to section 5 of this act; 25
(c) Comply with any procedures and requirements prescribed by 26
the Secretary of State pursuant to NRS 293.250 and 293.4855; and 27
[(c)] (d) Inform any person who uses the system to register to 28
vote for an election pursuant to NRS 293.5837, 293.5842 and 29
293.5847 that the person may vote in the election only if the person 30
complies with the applicable requirements established by those 31
sections. 32
3. The Secretary of State shall include on the system, in black 33
lettering and not more than 14-point type, the following 34
information: 35
(a) The qualifications to register or preregister to vote; 36
(b) That if the applicant does not meet the qualifications, he or 37
she is prohibited from registering or preregistering to vote; and 38
(c) The penalties for submitting a false application. 39
4. The Secretary of State shall not include on the system: 40
(a) Any additional warnings regarding the penalties for 41
submitting a false application; or 42
(b) The notice set forth in NRS 225.083. 43
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Sec. 20. NRS 293.675 is hereby amended to read as follows: 1
293.675 1. The Secretary of State shall establish and 2
maintain a centralized, top-down database that collects and stores 3
information related to the preregistration of persons and the 4
registration of electors from all the counties in this State. The 5
Secretary of State shall ensure that the database is capable of storing 6
preregistration information separately until a person is qualified to 7
register to vote. Each county clerk shall use the database created by 8
the Secretary of State pursuant to this subsection to collect and 9
maintain all records of preregistration and registration to vote. 10
2. The Secretary of State shall use the voter registration 11
information collected in the database created pursuant to subsection 12
1 to create the official statewide voter registration list, which may be 13
maintained on the Internet, in consultation with each county and city 14
clerk. 15
3. The statewide voter registration list must: 16
(a) Be a uniform, centralized and interactive computerized list; 17
(b) Serve as the single method for storing and managing the 18
official list of registered voters in this State; 19
(c) Serve as the official list of registered voters for the conduct 20
of all elections in this State; 21
(d) Contain the name , state or country of birth, language 22
preference and other registration information of every legally 23
registered voter in this State; 24
(e) Include a unique identifier assigned by the Secretary of State 25
to each legally registered voter in this State; 26
(f) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 9, be coordinated 27
with the appropriate databases of other agencies in this State; 28
(g) Be electronically accessible to each state and local election 29
official in this State at all times; 30
(h) Except as otherwise provided in subsection 10, allow for 31
data to be shared with other states under certain circumstances; and 32
(i) Be regularly maintained to ensure the integrity of the 33
registration process and the election process. 34
4. Each county and city clerk shall: 35
(a) Electronically enter into the database created pursuant to 36
subsection 1 all information related to voter preregistration and 37
registration obtained by the county or city clerk at the time the 38
information is provided to the county or city clerk; and 39
(b) Provide the Secretary of State with information concerning 40
the voter registration of the county or city and other reasonable 41
information requested by the Secretary of State in the form required 42
by the Secretary of State to establish or maintain the statewide voter 43
registration list. 44
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5. In establishing and maintaining the statewide voter 1
registration list, the Secretary of State shall enter into a cooperative 2
agreement with the Department of Motor Vehicles to match 3
information in the database of the statewide voter registration list 4
with information in the appropriate database of the Department of 5
Motor Vehicles to verify the accuracy of the information in an 6
application to register to vote. 7
6. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall enter into an 8
agreement with the Social Security Administration pursuant to 52 9
U.S.C. § 21083, to verify the accuracy of information in an 10
application to register to vote. 11
7. The Department of Motor Vehicles shall ensure that its 12
database: 13
(a) Is capable of processing any information related to an 14
application to register to vote, an application to update voter 15
registration information or a request to verify the accuracy of voter 16
registration information as quickly as is feasible; and 17
(b) Does not limit the number of applications to register to vote, 18
applications to update voter registration information or requests to 19
verify the accuracy of voter registration information that may be 20
processed by the database in any given day. 21
8. The Secretary of State shall enter into a cooperative 22
agreement with the State Registrar of Vital Statistics to match 23
information in the database of the statewide voter registration list 24
with information in the records of the State Registrar of Vital 25
Statistics concerning the death of a resident of this State to maintain 26
the statewide voter registration list. The Secretary of State must 27
compare the records of the State Registrar of Vital Statistics to those 28
in the statewide voter registration list at least once per month. 29
9. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 481.063 or any 30
provision of law providing for the confidentiality of information, the 31
Secretary of State may enter into an agreement with an agency of 32
this State pursuant to which the agency provides to the Secretary of 33
State any information in the possession of the agency that the 34
Secretary of State deems necessary to maintain the statewide voter 35
registration list. 36
10. The Secretary of State may: 37
(a) Request from the chief officer of elections of another state 38
any information which the Secretary of State deems necessary to 39
maintain the statewide voter registration list; and 40
(b) Provide to the chief officer of elections of another state any 41
information which is requested and which the Secretary of State 42
deems necessary for the chief officer of elections of that state to 43
maintain a voter registration list, if the Secretary of State is satisfied 44
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that the information provided pursuant to this paragraph will be used 1
only for the maintenance of that voter registration list. 2
Sec. 21. Chapter 293B of NRS is hereby amended by adding 3
thereto a new section to read as follows: 4
If the mechanical voting system used in a county or city is 5
capable of providing a registered voter’s ballot in the preferred 6
language of the voter other than English, the county or city clerk, 7
as applicable, shall ensure that the list of offices and candidates 8
and the statements of measures for which the voter is entitled to 9
vote is in that preferred language. 10
Sec. 22. Chapter 293C of NRS is hereby amended by adding 11
thereto a new section to read as follows: 12
The city clerk shall ensure that at each polling place for early 13
voting the applicable toll-free telephone number established by the 14
Secretary of State pursuant to section 6 of this act for a voter to 15
receive voter registration and other voter assistance during the 16
period for early voting is posted in a conspicuous place. 17
Sec. 23. NRS 293C.110 is hereby amended to read as follows: 18
293C.110 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 293.5817 19
and 293C.263 to 293C.26337, inclusive, the conduct of any city 20
election is under the control of the governing body of the city, and it 21
shall, by ordinance, provide for the holding of the election, appoint 22
the necessary election officers and election boards and do all other 23
things required to carry the election into effect. 24
2. The governing body of the city may provide for the conduct 25
of early voting by personal appearance in a city election pursuant to 26
NRS 293.5772 to 293.5887, inclusive, and 293C.355 to 293C.361, 27
inclusive [.] and section 22 of this act. 28
Sec. 24. NRS 293C.112 is hereby amended to read as follows: 29
293C.112 1. The governing body of a city may conduct a city 30
election in which all ballots must be cast by mail in accordance with 31
the provisions of NRS 293C.263 to 293C.26337, inclusive, if: 32
(a) The election is a special election; or 33
(b) The election is a primary city election or general city 34
election in which the ballot includes only: 35
(1) Offices and ballot questions that may be voted on by the 36
registered voters of only one ward; or 37
(2) One office or ballot question. 38
2. The provisions of NRS 293.5772 to 293.5887, inclusive, 39
293C.265 to 293C.302, inclusive, and 293C.355 to 293C.361, 40
inclusive, and section 22 of this act, do not apply to an election 41
conducted pursuant to this section. 42
Sec. 25. NRS 293C.220 is hereby amended to read as follows: 43
293C.220 1. The city clerk shall appoint and notify registered 44
voters to act as election board officers for the various polling places 45
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and precincts in the city as provided in NRS 293.225, 293.227, 1
293C.227, 293C.228 and 293C.26329. The city clerk shall make a 2
good faith effort to appoint election board officers who are 3
bilingual in a language that voting materials are required to be 4
provided in pursuant to section 5 of this act. No candidate for 5
nomination or election or a relative of the candidate within the 6
second degree of consanguinity or affinity may be appointed as an 7
election board officer. Immediately after election board officers are 8
appointed, if requested by the city clerk, the chief law enforcement 9
officer of the city shall: 10
(a) Appoint an officer for each polling place in the city and for 11
the central election board and the mail ballot central counting board; 12
or 13
(b) Deputize, as an officer for the election, an election board 14
officer for each polling place and for the central election board and 15
the mail ballot central counting board. The deputized officer may 16
not receive any additional compensation for the services he or she 17
provides as an officer during the election for which the officer is 18
deputized. 19
Officers so appointed and deputized shall preserve order during 20
hours of voting and attend the closing of the polls. 21
2. The city clerk may appoint a trainee for the position of 22
election board officer as set forth in NRS 293C.222. 23
Sec. 26. NRS 293C.263 is hereby amended to read as follows: 24
293C.263 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 25
city clerk shall prepare and distribute to each active registered voter 26
in the city and each person who registers to vote or updates his or 27
her voter registration information not later than the 14 days before 28
the election a mail ballot for every election. The city clerk shall 29
make reasonable accommodations for the use of the mail ballot by a 30
person who is elderly or disabled, including, without limitation, by 31
providing, upon request, the mail ballot in 12-point type to a person 32
who is elderly or disabled. If a city clerk is required to provide 33
voting materials pursuant to section 5 of this act in a language 34
that a registered voter has indicated is his or her preferred 35
language, the city clerk shall prepare and distribute a mail ballot 36
and all relevant materials and instructions for voting the mail 37
ballot in the preferred language of the voter. 38
2. The city clerk shall allow a voter to elect not to receive a 39
mail ballot pursuant to this section by submitting to the city clerk a 40
written notice in the form prescribed by the city clerk which must be 41
received by the city clerk not later than 60 days before the day of the 42
election. 43
3. The city clerk shall not distribute a mail ballot to any person 44
who: 45
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(a) Registers to vote for the election pursuant to the provisions 1
of NRS 293.5772 to 293.5887, inclusive; or 2
(b) Elects not to receive a mail ballot pursuant to subsection 2. 3
4. The mail ballot must include all offices, candidates and 4
measures upon which the voter is entitled to vote at the election. 5
5. Except as otherwise provided in subsections 2 and 3, the 6
mail ballot must be distributed to: 7
(a) Each active registered voter who: 8
(1) Resides within the State, not later than 20 days before the 9
election; and 10
(2) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (b), resides 11
outside the State, not later than 40 days before the election. 12
(b) Each active registered voter who registers to vote after the 13
dates set for distributing mail ballots pursuant to paragraph (a) but 14
who is eligible to receive a mail ballot pursuant to subsection 1, not 15
later than 13 days before the election. 16
(c) Each covered voter who is entitled to have a military-17
overseas ballot transmitted pursuant to the provisions of chapter 18
293D of NRS or the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee 19
Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. §§ 20301 et seq., not later than the time 20
required by those provisions. 21
6. In the case of a special election where no candidate for 22
federal office will appear on the ballot, the mail ballot must be 23
distributed to each active registered voter not later than 15 days 24
before the special election. 25
7. Any untimely legal action which would prevent the mail 26
ballot from being distributed to any voter pursuant to this section is 27
moot and of no effect. 28
Sec. 27. NRS 293C.530 is hereby amended to read as follows: 29
293C.530 1. A city clerk may establish a system for 30
distributing sample ballots by electronic means to each registered 31
voter who elects to receive a sample ballot by electronic means. 32
Such a system may include, without limitation, electronic mail or 33
electronic access through an Internet website. If a city clerk 34
establishes such a system and a registered voter elects to receive a 35
sample ballot by electronic means, the city clerk shall distribute the 36
sample ballot to the registered voter by electronic means pursuant to 37
the procedures and requirements set forth by regulations adopted by 38
the Secretary of State. 39
2. If a registered voter does not elect to receive a sample ballot 40
by electronic means pursuant to subsection 1, the city clerk shall 41
distribute the sample ballot to the registered voter by mail. 42
3. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, before the 43
period for early voting for any election begins, the city clerk shall 44
distribute to each registered voter in the city by mail or electronic 45
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means, as applicable, the sample ballot for his or her precinct, with a 1
notice informing the voter of the location of his or her polling place 2
or places. If the location of the polling place or places has changed 3
since the last election: 4
(a) The city clerk shall mail a notice of the change to each 5
registered voter in the city not sooner than 10 days before 6
distributing the sample ballots; or 7
(b) The sample ballot must also include a notice in bold type 8
immediately above the location which states: 9
10
NOTICE: THE LOCATION OF YOUR POLLING PLACE OR 11
PLACES HAS CHANGED SINCE THE LAST ELECTION 12
13
4. If a person registers to vote less than 20 days before the date 14
of an election, the city clerk is not required to distribute to the 15
person the sample ballot for that election by mail or electronic 16
means. 17
5. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 7, a sample 18
ballot required to be distributed pursuant to this section must: 19
(a) Be prepared in at least 12-point type . [;] 20
(b) Include the description of the anticipated financial effect and 21
explanation of each citywide measure and advisory question, 22
including arguments for and against the measure or question, as 23
required pursuant to NRS 295.205 or 295.217 . [; and] 24
(c) Include on the front page, in a separate box created by bold 25
lines, a notice prepared in at least 20-point bold type that states: 26
27
NOTICE: TO RECEIVE A SAMPLE BALLOT IN 28
LARGE TYPE, CALL (Insert appropriate telephone number) 29
30
(d) Include on the front page, in a separate box created by bold 31
lines, a notice that states: 32
33
NOTICE: TO RECEIVE A SAMPLE BALLOT IN 34
A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH, CALL 35
(Insert appropriate telephone number) 36
37
PLEASE NOTE THAT NOT ALL LANGUAGES 38
ARE AVAILABLE, BUT LANGUAGE INFORMATION 39
THAT IS COLLECTED WILL HELP DETERMINE THE 40
LANGUAGE NEEDS OF VOTERS AND THE SERVICES 41
PROVIDED BY THE STATE AND CITY 42
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6. The word “Incumbent” must appear on the sample ballot 1
next to the name of the candidate who is the incumbent, if required 2
pursuant to NRS 293.2565. 3
7. 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
8. 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
9. If a person requests a sample ballot in large type, the city 12
clerk shall ensure that all future sample ballots distributed to that 13
person from the city are in large type. 14
10. If a person requests a sample ballot in a language other 15
than English and the city clerk is required to provide voting 16
materials in such language pursuant to section 5 of this act, the 17
city clerk shall ensure that all sample ballots distributed to that 18
person in the future are provided in the preferred language. If, 19
pursuant to section 5 of this act, a city clerk is not required to 20
provide voting materials in the preferred language of the voter, the 21
city clerk must provide the voter with a sample ballot in English 22
until the clerk is required, pursuant to section 5 of this act, to 23
provide voting materials in such language. 24
11. The city clerk shall ensure that a sample ballot is 25
available at each polling place, including, without limitation, a 26
polling place for early voting in each language in which the city 27
clerk is required to provide information and voting materials 28
pursuant to section 5 of this act. 29
12. The city clerk shall include in each sample ballot a 30
statement indicating that the city clerk will, upon request of a voter 31
who is elderly or disabled, make reasonable accommodations to 32
allow the voter to vote at his or her polling place or places and 33
provide reasonable assistance to the voter in casting his or her vote, 34
including, without limitation, providing appropriate materials to 35
assist the voter. In addition, if the city clerk has provided pursuant to 36
subsection 4 of NRS 293C.281 for the placement at centralized 37
voting locations of specially equipped voting devices for use by 38
voters who are elderly or disabled, the city clerk shall include in the 39
sample ballot a statement indicating: 40
(a) The addresses of such centralized voting locations; 41
(b) The types of specially equipped voting devices available at 42
such centralized voting locations; and 43
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(c) That a voter who is elderly or disabled may cast his or her 1
ballot at such a centralized voting location rather than at the voter’s 2
regularly designated polling place or places. 3
[11.] 13. The cost of distributing sample ballots for a city 4
election must be borne by the city holding the election. 5
Sec. 28. NRS 293C.715 is hereby amended to read as follows: 6
293C.715 1. If a city clerk maintains a website on the 7
Internet for information relating to elections, the website must 8
contain public information maintained, collected or compiled by the 9
city clerk that relates to elections, which must include, without 10
limitation: 11
(a) The locations of polling places for casting a ballot on 12
election day in such a form that a registered voter may search the list 13
to determine the location of the polling place or places at which the 14
registered voter is entitled to cast a ballot; [and] 15
(b) The abstract of votes required to be posted on a website 16
pursuant to the provisions of NRS 293C.387 [.] ; and 17
(c) The toll-free telephone number established by the Secretary 18
of State pursuant to section 6 of this act. 19
2. The abstract of votes required to be maintained on the 20
website pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 must be 21
maintained in such a format as to permit the searching of the 22
abstract of votes for specific information. 23
3. The information required to be maintained by a city clerk 24
pursuant to subsection 1 shall be available on the website in all of 25
the languages that voting materials are required to be prepared in 26
the city pursuant to section 5 of this act. 27
4. If the information required to be maintained by a city clerk 28
pursuant to subsection 1 may be obtained by the public from a 29
website on the Internet maintained by the Secretary of State, 30
a county clerk or another city clerk, the city clerk may provide a 31
hyperlink to that website to comply with the provisions of 32
subsection 1 with regard to that information. 33
Sec. 28.5. NRS 293D.200 is hereby amended to read as 34
follows: 35
293D.200 1. The Secretary of State shall make available to 36
covered voters information regarding voter registration procedures 37
for covered voters and procedures for casting military-overseas 38
ballots. 39
2. The Secretary of State shall establish a system of approved 40
electronic transmission through which covered voters may apply for, 41
receive and send documents and other information pursuant to this 42
chapter. The system of approved electronic transmission must 43
include, without limitation, a method by which a covered voter may 44
provide his or her digital signature or electronic signature on any 45
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document or other material that is necessary for the covered voter to 1
register to vote, apply for a military-overseas ballot or cast a 2
military-overseas ballot pursuant to this chapter. The Secretary of 3
State shall ensure that the system is available in all languages in 4
which voting materials are required to be prepared and made 5
available pursuant to 52 U.S.C. § 10503 or section 5 of this act. 6
3. The Secretary of State shall develop standardized absentee-7
voting materials, including, without limitation, privacy and 8
transmission envelopes and their electronic equivalents, 9
authentication materials and voting instructions, to be used with the 10
military-overseas ballot of a covered voter authorized to vote in any 11
jurisdiction in this State and, to the extent reasonably possible, shall 12
do so in coordination with other states. 13
4. The Secretary of State shall prescribe the form and content 14
of a declaration for use by a covered voter to swear or affirm 15
specific representations pertaining to the covered voter’s identity, 16
eligibility to vote, status as a covered voter and timely and proper 17
completion of a military-overseas ballot. The declaration must be 18
based on the declaration prescribed to accompany a federal write-in 19
absentee ballot under section 103 of the Uniformed and Overseas 20
Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. § 20303, as modified to be 21
consistent with this chapter. The Secretary of State shall ensure that 22
a form for the execution of the declaration, including an indication 23
of the date of execution of the declaration, is a prominent part of all 24
balloting materials for which the declaration is required. 25
5. The Secretary of State shall prescribe by regulation the 26
duties of a local elections official upon receipt of a military-overseas 27
ballot, including, without limitation, the procedures to be used by a 28
local elections official in accepting, handling and counting a 29
military-overseas ballot. 30
6. The Secretary of State shall prescribe the form and content 31
of an application for a United States citizen who is outside the 32
United States to preregister to vote if: 33
(a) The person would have been able to preregister to vote 34
pursuant to NRS 293.4855 except for the residency requirement; 35
and 36
(b) The last place where a parent or legal guardian of the person 37
was, or under this chapter would have been, eligible to vote before 38
leaving the United States is within this State. 39
Sec. 29. NRS 298.700 is hereby amended to read as follows: 40
298.700 1. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the 41
provisions of NRS 293.356 to 293.361, inclusive, and section 7 of 42
this act, apply to a presidential preference primary election. 43
2. The period for early voting for a presidential preference 44
primary election begins 10 calendar days before the date of the 45
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presidential preference primary election and extends through the 1
Friday before the day of the presidential preference primary 2
election. 3
3. The county clerk may: 4
(a) Include any Sunday or federal holiday that falls within the 5
period for early voting by personal appearance. 6
(b) Require a permanent polling place for early voting to remain 7
open until 8 p.m. on any Saturday that falls within the period for 8
early voting. 9
4. A permanent polling place for early voting must remain 10
open: 11
(a) On Monday through Friday during the period for early 12
voting, for at least 8 hours during such hours as the county clerk 13
may establish. 14
(b) On any Saturday that falls within the period for early voting, 15
for at least 4 hours during such hours as the county clerk may 16
establish. 17
(c) If the county clerk includes a Sunday that falls within the 18
period for early voting pursuant to subsection 3, during such hours 19
as the county clerk may establish. 20
Sec. 30. Chapter 225 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 21
thereto the provisions set forth as sections 31 to 36, inclusive, of this 22
act. 23
Sec. 31. As used in sections 31 to 36, inclusive, of this act, 24
unless the context otherwise requires, the words and terms defined 25
in sections 32 and 33 of this act have the meanings ascribed to 26
them in those sections. 27
Sec. 32. “Advisory Committee” means the Language Access 28
Advisory Committee created by section 34 of this act. 29
Sec. 33. “Language access programs” means a program or 30
service that focuses on communication barriers between persons 31
who cannot read, speak or write English fluently. 32
Sec. 34. 1. The Language Access Advisory Committee is 33
hereby created within the Office of the Secretary of State. 34
2. The Advisory Committee consists of the following members 35
who represent the diversity of this State, including: 36
(a) The Secretary of State or his or her designee; 37
(b) The registrar of voters of each county that has created the 38
office of registrar of voters pursuant to NRS 244.164; 39
(c) A county clerk of a county whose population is less than 40
100,000, appointed by the Secretary of State; and 41
(d) Three other members of the public appointed by the 42
Secretary of State. 43
3. The Secretary of State shall: 44
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(a) Consider members who have knowledge of language access 1
programs when appointing members of the Advisory Committee; 2
(b) Select the Chair of the Advisory Committee from among its 3
members; and 4
(c) Designate an employee of the Office of the Secretary of 5
State to serve as Secretary for the Advisory Committee. 6
4. The Secretary of State may assign such other employees of 7
his or her Office as he or she deems necessary to assist the 8
Advisory Committee in its duties. 9
5. The Chair of the Advisory Committee shall appoint a Vice 10
Chair from among the members of the Advisory Committee. 11
6. After the initial term, each member of the Advisory 12
Committee shall serve for a term of 2 years. Each member of the 13
Advisory Committee serves at the pleasure of the Secretary of 14
State. If a vacancy occurs, the Secretary of State shall appoint a 15
new member to fill the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired 16
term. 17
7. Members of the Advisory Committee serve without 18
compensation. While engaged in the business of the Advisory 19
Committee, each member of the Advisory Committee is entitled to 20
receive the per diem allowance and travel expenses provided for 21
state officers and employees generally. 22
Sec. 35. 1. The Advisory Committee shall: 23
(a) Identify programs and services that address problems 24
concerning language accessibility of elections and voting 25
materials; 26
(b) Coordinate with community organizations to determine 27
language accessibility needs for elections and voting materials; 28
(c) Act as liaison between the Office of the Secretary of State 29
and community organizations; 30
(d) Make annual assessments to determine language 31
accessibility programs and services that could be implemented for 32
the election process; 33
(e) Make recommendations to the Office of the Secretary of 34
State relating to language accessibility programs and services that 35
should be implemented in elections. 36
2. As used in this section, “voting materials” has the meaning 37
ascribed to it in section 4 of this act. 38
Sec. 36. 1. The Advisory Committee shall meet at least four 39
times in a calendar year. One meeting must be in person. The 40
Advisory Committee may conduct all other meetings through 41
the use of remote technology systems. A special meeting of the 42
Advisory Committee may be called by the Secretary of State and 43
the Chair of the Advisory Committee at such additional times as 44
they deem necessary. 45
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2. The Chair of the Advisory Committee or, in the absence of 1
the Chair, the Vice Chair of the Advisory Committee, shall preside 2
at each meeting of the Advisory Committee. 3
3. A majority of the members of the Advisory Committee 4
constitute a quorum. 5
4. As used in this section, “remote technology system” has the 6
meaning ascribed to it in NRS 241.015. 7
Sec. 36.5. NRS 353.264 is hereby amended to read as follows: 8
353.264 1. The Reserve for Statutory Contingency Account 9
is hereby created in the State General Fund. 10
2. The State Board of Examiners shall administer the Reserve 11
for Statutory Contingency Account. The money in the Account must 12
be expended only for: 13
(a) The payment of claims which are obligations of the State 14
pursuant to NRS 41.03435, 41.0347, 62I.025, 176.485, 179.310, 15
212.040, 212.050, 212.070, 281.174, 282.290, 282.315, 293.253, 16
293.405, 298.710, 304.230, 353.120, 353.262, 412.154 and 475.235 17
[;] and section 5 of this act; 18
(b) The payment of claims which are obligations of the State 19
pursuant to: 20
(1) Chapter 472 of NRS arising from operations of the 21
Division of Forestry of the State Department of Conservation and 22
Natural Resources directly involving the protection of life and 23
property; and 24
(2) NRS 7.155, 34.750, 176A.640, 179.225 and 213.153, 25
except that claims may be approved for the respective purposes 26
listed in this paragraph only when the money otherwise appropriated 27
for those purposes has been exhausted; 28
(c) The payment of claims which are obligations of the State 29
pursuant to NRS 41.0349 and 41.037, but only to the extent that the 30
money in the Fund for Insurance Premiums is insufficient to pay the 31
claims; 32
(d) The payment of claims which are obligations of the State 33
pursuant to NRS 41.950; and 34
(e) The payment of claims which are obligations of the State 35
pursuant to NRS 535.030 arising from remedial actions taken by the 36
State Engineer when the condition of a dam becomes dangerous to 37
the safety of life or property. 38
3. The State Board of Examiners may authorize its Clerk or a 39
person designated by the Clerk, under such circumstances as it 40
deems appropriate, to approve, on behalf of the Board, the payment 41
of claims from the Reserve for Statutory Contingency Account. For 42
the purpose of exercising any authority granted to the Clerk of the 43
State Board of Examiners or to the person designated by the Clerk 44
pursuant to this subsection, any statutory reference to the State 45
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Board of Examiners relating to such a claim shall be deemed to refer 1
to the Clerk of the Board or the person designated by the Clerk. 2
Sec. 36.7. 1. There is hereby appropriated from the State 3
General Fund to the Office of the Secretary of State for personnel, 4
travel expenses, operating expenses, equipment and information 5
services expenses, vendor services relating to the expansion of 6
language access and the establishment of a toll-free telephone 7
number required by section 6 of this act the following sums: 8
For the Fiscal Year 2023-2024 .................................. $240,244 9
For the Fiscal Year 2024-2025 .................................. $209,332 10
2. Any balance of the sums appropriated by subsection 1 11
remaining at the end of the respective fiscal years must not be 12
committed for expenditure after June 30 of the respective fiscal 13
years by the entity to which the appropriation is made or any entity 14
to which money from the appropriation is granted or otherwise 15
transferred in any manner, and any portion of the appropriated 16
money remaining must not be spent for any purpose after 17
September 20, 2024, and September 19, 2025, respectively, by 18
either the entity to which the money was appropriated or the entity 19
to which the money was subsequently granted or transferred, and 20
must be reverted to the State General Fund on or before 21
September 20, 2024, and September 19, 2025, respectively. 22
Sec. 37. 1. The Secretary of State shall appoint the members 23
of the Language Access Advisory Committee created by section 34 24
of this act before January 1, 2024. 25
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 34 of this act, the 26
members of the Language Access Advisory Committee must be 27
appointed to serve initial terms as follows: 28
(a) The member who is a county clerk of a county whose 29
population is less than 100,000 and one of the members who are 30
members of the public must be appointed to serve a term of 2 years. 31
(b) Two of the members who are members of the public must be 32
appointed to serve a term of 3 years. 33
Sec. 37.5. 1. The Secretary of State shall ensure that the 34
review of data that the Secretary of State is required to perform 35
pursuant to section 5 of this act is completed in sufficient time so 36
that voting materials may be made available by the Secretary of 37
State and any affected county or city clerk in any required language 38
for the 2024 General Election. 39
2. As used in this section, “voting materials” has the meaning 40
ascribed to it in section 4 of this act. 41
Sec. 38. The provisions of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any 42
additional expenses of a local government that are related to the 43
provisions of this act. 44
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Sec. 39. 1. This section and sections 37, 37.5 and 38 of this 1
act become effective upon passage and approval. 2
2. Section 36.7 of this act becomes effective on July 1, 2023. 3
3. Sections 1 to 36.5, inclusive, of this act become effective: 4
(a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of adopting any 5
regulations and performing any other preparatory administrative 6
tasks that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this act; and 7
(b) On January 1, 2024, for all other purposes. 8
H