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Nevada Question 1, Signature Increase and Distribution Requirement for Initiatives Amendment (1958)
| Nevada Question 1 | |
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| Election date |
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| Topic Initiative and referendum process |
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| Status |
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| Type Indirect initiated constitutional amendment |
Origin |
Nevada Question 1 was on the ballot as an indirect initiated constitutional amendment in Nevada on November 4, 1958. It was approved.
A "yes" vote supported this constitutional amendment to:
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A "no" vote opposed this constitutional amendment, thus continuing to provide that the number of signatures required for initiatives is equal to 10% of the votes cast last state supreme court justice election. |
Aftermath
ACLU v. Lomax (2009)
- See also: Signature distribution requirement
In 2009, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the county-based distribution requirement for initiatives in Nevada violated the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. The court's opinion held, "Because the 13 Counties Rule is not based on county population, but rather on a fixed percentage of signatures from a fixed percentage of counties, it dilutes the vote of residents of densely populated counties"[1]
Election results
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Nevada Question 1 |
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| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
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37,651 | 61.91% | ||
| No | 23,168 | 38.09% | ||
Text of measure
Ballot title
The ballot title for Question 1 was as follows:
| “ | QUESTION NO. 1 INITIATIVE PETITION Shall—“An Act of the people of the State of Nevada amending Section 3 of Article 19 of the Constitution of the State of Nevada.” The People of the State of Nevada do enact as follows: SECTION 1—Sec. 3. The people reserve to themselves the power to propose laws and the power to propose amendments to the constitution and to enact or reject the same at the polls, independent of the legislature, and also reserve the power at their option to approve or reject at the polls, in the manner herein provided, any act, item, section or part of any act or measure passed by the legislature, and section one of article four of the constitution shall hereafter be considered accordingly. The first power reserved by the people is the initiative. The initiative petition shall be proposed by not less than ten per cent (10%) of the qualified electors of each of not less than seventy five per cent (75%) of the counties in the state, provided, however, that the total number of qualified electors proposing the said petition shall be not less than ten per cent (10%) of all of the qualified electors of the State. Every such petition shall include the full text of the measure so proposed. Each signer shall affix thereto his or her signature, place of residence and the county within which he or she is a qualified elector. Each document comprising the initiative petition filed with the Secretary of State shall have affixed thereto, an affidavit made by one of the signers to each of said comments or to the petition, to the effect that all of the signatures are genuine and that each and every individual who signed his or her name thereto was at the time that he or she signed the petition a bonafide qualified elector of the respective county and the State of Nevada, said affidavit to be executed before a Notary Public or some officer authorized to administer an oath who possesses a seal. Initiative petitions, for all but municipal legislation, shall be filed with the secretary of state not less than thirty (30) days before any regular session of the legislature; the secretary of state shall transmit the same to the legislature as soon as it convenes and organizes. Such initiative measure shall take precedence over all measures of the legislature except appropriation bills, and shall be enacted or rejected by the legislature, without change or amendment, within forty (40) days. If any such initiative measure so proposed by petition as aforesaid, shall be enacted by the legislature and approved by the governor in the same manner as other laws are enacted, same shall become a law, but shall be subject to referendum petition as provided in sections one and two of this article. If said initiative measure be rejected by the legislature, or if no action be taken thereon within said forty (40) days, the secretary of state shall submit the same to the qualified electors for approval or rejection at the next ensuing general election; and if a majority of the qualified electors voting thereon shall approve of such measure it shall become law and take effect from the date of the official declaration of the vote; an initiative measure so approved by the qualified electors shall not be annulled, set aside or repealed by the legislature within three (3) years from the date said act takes effect. In case the legislature shall reject such initiative measure, said body may, with the approval of the governor, propose a different measure on the same subject, in which event both measures shall be submitted by the secretary of state to the qualified electors for approval or rejection at the next ensuing general election. The enacting clause of all bills proposed by the initiative shall be: “The people of the State of Nevada do enact as follows.” The total number of votes cast at the general election last preceding the filing of any initiative petition shall be the basis on which the number of qualified electors required to sign such petition shall be counted. The second power reserved by the people is the referendum, which shall be exercised in the manner provided in sections one and two of this article. The initiative and referendum powers in this article provided for are further reserved to the qualified electors of each county and municipality as to all local, special and municipal legislation of every character in or for said respective counties or municipalities. The legislature may provide by law for the manner of exercising the initiative and referendum powers as to county and municipal legislation, but shall not require a petition of more than 10 per cent (10%) of the qualified electors to order the referendum, nor more than 15 per cent (15%) to propose any municipal measure by initiative. If the conflicting measures submitted to the people at the next ensuing general election shall both be approved by a majority of the votes severally cast for and against each of said measures, the measure receiving the highest number of affirmative votes shall thereupon become a law as to all conflicting provisions. The provision of this section shall be self-executing, but legislation may be especially enacted to facilitate its operation. SECTION 2. This amendment to the Constitution of the State of Nevada shall be in full force and effect from and after its enactment by the legislature and approval by the governor, or from and after its approval by a majority of the electors voting thereon and the official declaration of the vote. — be approved? | ” |
Ballot summary
The ballot summary for this measure was:
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STATEMENT OF PROPOSED ADDED OR DELETED MATTER The proposed amendment to Section 3, Article XIX of the Nevada Constitution would add thereto the requirement that an initiative petition must bear signatures of ten percent of the qualified electors of each of the seventy-five percent of the counties in the State; that the total number of petitioners shall not be less than ten percent of all the qualified electors in the State, and that the total vote cast at the last preceding general election is to be the basis upon which the qualified electors required to sign are to be counted. The addition above referred to would be added in substitution for the existing requirement than not more than ten percent of the qualified electors shall be required to propose any measure by initiative petition, and that the whole number of votes cast for justice of the supreme court at the last general election shall be the basis on which the number of qualified electors required to sign shall be counted. This existing requirement would, by the proposed amendment, be stricken or deleted from the Constitution. The proposed amendment to Section 3, Article XIX of the Nevada Constitution would also add thereto the requirement that each signer of the initiative petition in addition to affixing his own signature shall designate his place of residence and county in which he is a qualified elector; that each document comprising the initiative petition shall bear an affidavit under oath of one of the signers to each document or to the petition attesting the genuineness of the situations and that each signer was at the time of signing a bonafide qualified elector of the respective county and State of Nevada. SYNOPSIS OR EXPLANATION OF PURPOSE OF PROPOSED AMENDMENT The proposed amendment to Section 3, Article XIX of the Nevada Constitution would make the requirements to commence and carry through an initiative petition more strict. Generally, more signatures derived from at least thirteen counties of the State would be necessary. If the County Clerks desire it, the following can serve as the brief statement of the purport of Question No. 1 as required to appear on the written ballot in compliance with NRS 296.190: “If approved, the Nevada Constitution will be changed to make the requirements to commence and carry through an initiative petition more strict. Generally, more signatures derived from at least thirteen counties of the State would be necessary.” | ” |
Full Text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
From 1912 to 1962, initiated constitutional amendments were indirect in Nevada. Voters made the process direct with the approval of Question 2 in 1962. The indirect process in Nevada required that an initiated amendment receive the legislature's and governor's approval or voter approval.
An indirect initiated constitutional amendment is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends a state's constitution. There are two states – Massachusetts and Mississippi – that allow citizens to initiate indirect constitutional amendments.
While a direct initiated constitutional amendment is placed on the ballot once supporters file the required number of valid signatures, an indirect initiated constitutional amendment is first presented to the state legislature, which has various options depending on the state.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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State of Nevada Carson City (capital) |
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