Nevada signature requirements
 (By state) |
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Contents |
Federal offices
U.S. Senate
Partisan candidates for U.S. Senate must pay a $500 filing fee.[1]
Independent candidates for U.S. Senate have two options for filing. First, a candidate may submit signatures equal to at least 1% of the total number of ballots cast in the last general election for the office the candidate is seeking. The second option is for a candidate to submit 250 valid signatures of registered votes.[2]
Nevada law prohibits write-in candidacies or write-in votes of any kind.[1]
U.S. House
Partisan candidates for U.S. House must pay a $300 filing fee.[1]
Independent candidates for U.S. House have two options for filing. First, a candidate may submit signatures equal to at least 1% of the total number of ballots cast in the last general election for the office the candidate is seeking. The second option is for a candidate to submit 250 valid signatures of registered votes.[2]
Nevada law prohibits write-in candidacies or write-in votes of any kind.[1]
Filing deadlines
2012
The deadline for all candidates to qualify for the primary election was March 16, 2012.
State offices
Statewide executive offices
All candidates for Governor of Nevada must pay a $300 filing fee. All candidates for state office other than Governor or Justice of the Nevada Supreme Court must pay a $200 filing fee.[1]
Independent candidates for Governor or any other state officce have two options for filing. First, a candidate may submit signatures equal to at least 1% of the total number of ballots cast in the last general election for the office the candidate is seeking. The second option is for a candidate to submit 250 valid signatures of registered votes.[2]
Nevada law prohibits write-in candidacies or write-in votes of any kind.[1]
State legislature
Partisan candidates for State Assembly and State Senate must pay a $100 filing fee.[1]
Independent candidates for State Assembly and State Senate have two options for filing. First, a candidate may submit signatures equal to at least 1% of the total number of ballots cast in the last general election for the office the candidate is seeking. The second option is for a candidate to submit 250 valid signatures of registered votes.[2]
Nevada law prohibits write-in candidacies or write-in votes of any kind.[1]
Filing deadlines
2012
The deadline for all candidates to qualify for the primary election was March 16, 2012.
Ballot measures
Nevada signature requirements for initiative petitions and recall are as follows:
Signature requirements
Current requirements
Proponents must collect signatures equal to 10% of the total votes cast in last general election. Nevada does not require a higher percentage for constitutional amendments than it requires for statutory initiatives, veto referendums, or statute affirmations.
| Year | Amendment | Statute | Veto referendum | Statute affirmation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 101,666 | 101,666 | 101,666 | 101,666 |
| 2012 | 72,352 | 72,352 | 72,352 | 72,352 |
| 2010 | 97,002 | 97,002 | 97,002 | 97,002 |
| 2008 | 58,627 | 58,627 | 58,627 | 58,627 |
See law: Nevada Constitution, Article 19, Sections 2 & 3
Basis for calculation
- A total of 723,515 votes were cast in the 2010 gubernatorial election.[3]
Distribution requirements
- See also: Distribution requirements
Under Nevada's distribution requirement, proponents must collect signatures equal to 10% of the total votes cast in last general election in each of the state's congressional districts. Nevada's current rule developed in response to several legal challenges.
In 2006, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the state's "13 counties rule" was unconstitutional in ACLU v. Lomax. The rule required that initiative petitions be signed by a number of registered voters equal to 10% of the total votes cast in the preceding general election in each of 13 of Nevada's 17 counties. The court found that it was unconstitutional because it diluted the preferences of residents of densely populated counties.
In 2007, the Nevada State Legislature passed Nevada Senate Bill 549. SB 549 tweaked the previous distribution requirement by requiring these signatures from all of the state's 17 counties. The law did implement a formula to adjust the county requirement for county populations, but the formula only compensated for differences in the percentage of the population which voted--not for differences in population density or other factors. The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the new law in February of 2008 and succeeded in having the US District Court for Nevada overturn the law in Marijuana Policy Project v. Miller.
In 2009, the Nevada State Legislature passed Senate Bill 212. The law created the existing requirement, but gave it a sunset date of July 1, 2011. The bill required the Legislature to establish petition districts for use after that date. On July 13, 2011, the Governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval (R), signed Senate Bill 133 which retained congressional districts as the basis of the distribution requirement.
See law: Nevada Revised Statutes, Chapter 295, Section 069 ; Nevada Senate Bill 549 ; Nevada Senate Bill 212 & Nevada Senate Bill 133
Recall
- To recall an elected official in Nevada, 25% of registered voters who lives in the district represented by the officeholder being recalled are required.
- At the end of 2010, there are 1,139,406 voters that have an active registration on file with the Secretary of State[4].
- In order to recall a statewide officer 284,852 signatures are required.
Signature deadlines
2012
- For an indirect initiated state statute to be placed on the 2012 ballot, all petitions must be submitted to the Secretary of State by November 9, 2010. An initiated constitutional amendment however, requires signature petitions to be submitted by August 8, 2012. To qualify a veto referendum signatures are required by July 9, 2012.[5].
2010
- For a proposed amendment, the signature filing deadline for the November 2010 ballot was June 15, 2010. All signatures were required to be submitted to county clerks/registrars. County clerks then had to verify and submit the signatures to the secretary of state by no later than August 4, 2010.[6] For an initiated state statute, the signature filing deadline was 30 days before the 2010 session of the state legislature began in January 2010.
See also
External links
- 2008 Required Signatures from the Nevada Secretary of State's official web site
- NCSL signature chart for 2008
- Nevada signature requirements collated by the Citizens in Charge Foundation
- Nevada Secretary of State web site
- Registered Nevada Ballot Access Groups
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Nevada Secretary of State "Candidate Guide 2012" Accessed April 26, 2012
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Nevada Secretary of State "Independent Candidate Guide 2012" Accessed April 26, 2012
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "Voter Turnout Report"
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State "2010 Voter Registration Statistics"
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State "Important 2010 Initiative Dates"
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State,"Important 2010 Initiative Dates," retrieved June 1, 2010
