Democrats won full control of Nevada’s government for the first time in two decades following Gov. Steve Sisolak's victory last year, and they further made history by electing the nation’s first majority-woman legislature. Lawmakers quickly used their newfound powers to pass a major package of laws designed to protect voting rights, make voting easier, and increase turnout.
Chief among the changes is an omnibus law that enables same-day voter registration and implements automatic voter registration at the DMV. That same law also expands early voting availability and gives all voters the option to sign up to permanently receive an absentee ballot at each election.
And there’s still more good news. Absentee ballots will now be counted so long as they're postmarked by Election Day; under current practice, ballots had to be received by officials by Election Day. Additionally, when absentee ballots have a problem, such as when a voter's signature is missing or doesn’t appear to match the one on file, officials will be required to contact voters to confirm their identity so that they aren't disenfranchised.
Additionally, the legislation codifies into law the option for counties to adopt vote centers. Such centers allow any voter in the county to cast a ballot regardless of where they live, as opposed to the traditional practice that requires voters to visit their local precinct.
But that’s not all. The legislature was very busy this year and passed a slew of other bills related to voting to complement this omnibus law. One measure, which passed with bipartisan support, consolidates all local election dates with federal and state elections. That ends the practice in some cities of holding elections in the spring or in odd-numbered years. This change will likely save money, since officials will have to hold fewer elections. More importantly, it will increase voter participation dramatically in local elections across the state, since turnout is almost always much higher in federal and state races.
Another law Democrats passed will allow voters to turn in their absentee ballots at any early voting location in their county. Previously voters had to either send such ballots via the mail or drop them off at their county clerk's office, so establishing multiple drop-off locations will make turning in a mail ballot in person much more convenient. That's especially important because the new permanent absentee option will likely lead to increased absentee voting.
Additionally, Democrats enacted a law that will restore voting rights to everyone who is no longer incarcerated for a felony conviction, meaning citizens will now be able to vote if they are on parole, probation, or post-sentence. (Previously, Nevada permanently disenfranchised some but not all people with felony convictions.)
They also passed another law to end "prison gerrymandering," a practice in many states that, for redistricting purposes, counts prisoners where they’re incarcerated, even though they can’t vote there and usually have no ties to the often-rural areas where most prisons are located. Instead, prisoners will now be counted at their last address, which could shift representation from rural white communities to urban communities of color, particularly at the local level.
Legislators also voted by a near-unanimous margin to put a constitutional amendment on the 2020 ballot to expand protections for the right to vote. While nearly every state constitution guarantees the right to vote in some form, these provisions are often not laid out in modern language that is unambiguous and meticulous in detailing its safeguards. This amendment will clarify this guarantee to protect voters against modern threats to voting rights.
Lawmakers passed another bipartisan measure unanimously to establish a permanent polling place on each Native American reservation in the state unless a reservation specifically asks to change it. Many people living on remote reservations lack reliable transportation options, so establishing local polling places should improve voting access.
Meanwhile, another law reforms the recall process to make it less vulnerable to partisan abuse. The most notorious such incident came about in 2017, when Republicans tried to recall several Democratic state senators in 2017 solely because they believed it would be easier to win back control of the chamber in low-turnout special elections. (That scheme ultimately failed after a costly legal challenge when Republicans failed to submit enough valid signatures.) This legislation aims to prevent future deceptive recall campaigns while still leaving the option open for legislators who break the law or abuse their office.
However, the 2019 legislative session wasn't a total victory for advocates of pro-democracy reforms. Sisolak became the first Democratic governor to veto a bill to join the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. That bill would have added Nevada's six Electoral College votes to the compact and awarded those votes to the national popular vote winner if enough states with a majority of electoral votes also join. Even though four other Democratic-run states joined this year, Sisolak's veto prevented the compact from breaking the 200-electoral vote milestone, leaving it just shy at 196. (The compact does have a difficult-but-plausible path to enactment in time for the 2024 elections.)
Other measures to expand turnout failed to clear the legislature ahead of a key deadline, including a bill that would have required a general election for local office even if a candidate takes a majority in the primary. While that measure would have ensured local elections take place in what is typically the highest-turnout environment—November in even years—the law moving elections to even-numbered years will nevertheless likely boost primary turnout significantly.
And likely in part because that bill to require general elections for local contests failed to pass, another proposal didn’t survive that would have granted 17-year-olds the right to vote in primaries if they turn 18 by the general election. (Without the first bill, the second bill would have allowed some 17-year-olds to vote in contests that determined the winner outright.) However, all of the measures that did become law should nevertheless make voting much easier in Nevada.
All in all, this litany of new laws shows what Democrats can accomplish in the name of voting rights when given the chance—and vividly illustrates the importance of electing more Democrats to state office.
Correction: This post has been updated to remove reference to a law that would guarantee the right to vote if voters are still waiting in line when polls close. This protection already exists under state law; the provision in question simply clarified that it also applies to those who vote early, those who cast ballots at county-wide “vote centers” rather than their traditional polling places, and those still needing to register. Additionally, it removed a provision enabling voters to turn in their absentee ballots at any early voting location in their county; that provision was stripped from the relevant bill in committee.