Nevada Voter ID and Verification Initiative (2022)
| Nevada Voter ID and Verification Initiative | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 8, 2022 | |
| Topic Voting policy measures | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin Citizens |
The Nevada Voter ID and Verification Initiative (#C-03-2021) did not appear on the ballot in Nevada as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022.
The initiative would have amended the Nevada Constitution to require a photo ID when voting in-person and require voter verification when voting by-mail via the last four digits of their driver's license, the last four digits of their Social Security number, or the last four digits of their voter registration number.[1][2]
Text of measure
Description of effect
The description of effect for the initiative was as follows:[2]
| “ |
If passed, this initiative would amend the State Constitution to require that all persons voting in person present an approved photo identification before being provided a ballot. It also requires that voters submitting a mail-in ballot provide additional verification of their identity when completing their mail-in ballot using the number provided on their voter registration form when they registered to vote. This amendment will increase voter integrity by ensuring that any person casting a ballot in Nevada is, in fact, the duly registered voter. It will also improve and speed up the mail-in ballot verification process by providing a second, more secure means of verifying that the mail-in ballot was completed by the registered voter. Nevadans want confidence that all ballots submitted during an election are cast only by eligible voters.[3] |
” |
Full text
The full text of the measure can be read here.
Sponsor
Repair the Vote PAC sponsored the initiative. David Gibbs, who is a former chairman of the Clark County Republican Central Committee and a 2018 Republican congressional primary candidate, registered Repair the Vote PAC.[1][4]
Path to the ballot
The state process
In Nevada, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the total votes cast in the most recent general election. Moreover, signature gathering must be distributed equally among each of the state's four congressional districts. The initial filing of an initiated constitutional amendment cannot be made before September 1 of the year preceding the election year. The signature petitions must be filed with county officials by the third Tuesday in June of an even-numbered year. The final submission of signatures to the secretary of state must be made at least 90 days before the next regular general election. Initiated constitutional amendments that qualify for the ballot must be approved at two consecutive general elections.
The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2022 ballot and the next even-yeared election ballot:
- Signatures: 135,561 valid signatures were required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was June 29, 2022.
Signatures are verified by county clerks using a random sampling method if more than 500 signatures were submitted in that county. If enough signatures are submitted and verified, the initiative goes on the next general election ballot. If approved at the first election, it goes on the next general election ballot.
Details about this initiative
- The initiative was filed by Repair the Vote PAC on January 28, 2022.[1]
Lawsuits
| Lawsuit overview | |
| Issue: Whether the description of the effect of the measure on petitions is confusing, argumentative, and misleading | |
| Court: Carson City District Court | |
| Ruling: Ruled that description of effect was argumentative | |
| Plaintiff(s): Eric Jeng and Emily Persaud-Zamora | Defendant(s): Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske |
Source: The Nevada Independent
On February 18, 2022, attorneys from the firm of Wolf, Rifkin, Shapiro, Schulman & Rabkin LLP and Elias Law Group LLP filed a lawsuit on behalf of Eric Jeng and Emily Persaud-Zamora alleging that the description of this initiative is confusing, argumentative, and misleading.[5][6]
The lawsuit states, "The description of effect is utterly silent on the impact that the measure would have on eligible Nevada voters’ ability to successfully exercise their right to vote, should it be enacted.”[6]
David Gibbs, who registered the Repair the Vote PAC, said, “It’s a frivolous lawsuit, brought by D.C. Democrat elite Hillary Clinton’s lawyer trying to stop the will of the people from improving our election security. We took the language directly from the Texas law that’s been adjudicated. The courts are not going to change the will of the people. So they're going to go, ‘Hey, the people get a chance to decide this, not some … D.C. elite law firm.' [People] need to have the faith that when they fill out their ballot, it’s going to be delivered and it’s going to be counted.”[5][6]
Attorney's for Jeng and Persaud-Zamora also filed a lawsuit against a veto referendum petition filed by the Repair the Vote Pac.[5]
On February 28, 2022, Sigal Chattah, a Republican candidate for attorney general, filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the Repair the Vote PAC.[5]
On April 25, 2022, Senior Judge William Maddox ruled that the initiative's description of effect was argumentative, and ordered a new description to be written. This would require a new set of signatures to be collected. The president of the Repair the Vote PAC, former Nevada Republican Club President David Gibbs, stated that it would be very difficult to collect the amount of signatures needed in time for the initiative to make it to the ballot.[7]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Nevada Secretary of State, "2022 Petitions & General Election Ballot Questions," accessed November 19, 2021
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Nevada Secretary of State, "Full text," accessed February 1, 2022
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Nevada Secretary of State, "Repair the Vote PAC committee registration form," accessed March 1, 2022
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 The Nevada Independent, "Lawsuits aim to block ballot questions on voter ID, mail voting rollback," March 2, 2022
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 The Nevada Globe, "Clinton Law Firm Files Suits to Stop Election Integrity Ballot Initiatives," March 1, 2022
- ↑ The Nevada Independent, "Voter ID, mail voting rollback ballot questions likely dead after court rulings," April 26, 2022
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