Let’s dissect Nevada’s latest legislative brainchild, AB499, a bill so riddled with flaws it could turn our elections into a free-for-all where citizenship is optional, and signatures are as secure as a screen door on a submarine. This isn’t just a misstep, it’s a full-on sprint toward undermining the integrity of our voting system. Let’s break down the madness and arm you with the tools to tell your elected servants, “Not on my watch.”
AB499 mandates that the Department of Motor Vehicles automatically register every Tom, Dick, and Harry to vote, no citizenship verification required. That’s right, folks: no pesky proof needed to ensure you’re an American exercising your sacred right. Section 2 of the bill throws open the gates, assuming everyone with a driver’s license or ID is eligible. Historically, the DMV points at the Secretary of State, and the Secretary points back, leaving a gaping hole where accountability should be. In a state where illegal immigration is a hot-button issue, this is like handing out ballots at the border with a wink and a nod.
Then there’s Sections 5 and 9, which effectively neuter signature verification. If you scribble your last four Social Security digits, driver’s license number, or voter ID on the envelope, and the clerk says, “Looks good enough”, your ballot sails through, no signature check needed. Never mind that Social Security databases have been hacked more times than a piñata at a birthday party, with stolen data floating around the dark web like confetti. Birthdates and partial SSNs? Obsolete. Yet AB499 treats them like Fort Knox-level security. If those digits are missing or wrong, the clerk has to verify the signature, except the bill green-lights confirmation via email or text. Text! How do you “securely” confirm a signature with a thumbs-up emoji?
The bill’s laundry list of omissions is staggering. No encryption for electronic signatures, no audit trail tracking IP addresses or timestamps, no knowledge-based questions to prove identity, no ID upload requirement, and, brace yourselves, zero mention of ensuring voters are U.S. citizens. It’s a fraudster’s dream. Imagine a ballot signed from a VPN in Moscow, timestamped whenever, with no way to trace it. And in Clark and Washoe Counties, where we have voter registrars, the bill lazily says “county clerk”, as if precision doesn’t matter.
If this passes, Nevada’s elections could become a Wild West shootout where every vote counts, except we won’t know who’s casting them. Close races? Good luck sorting legit ballots from the chaos. Young voters with shaky signatures and seniors with arthritis-altered scrawls already struggle with verification, this bill just pours gasoline on that fire.
Five Ways to Tell Your Servants “No”
Nevadans, it’s time to flex your constitutional muscles. Here’s how to stop AB499 dead in its tracks:
Show Up in Person: Head to Carson City on Tuesday, April 8, at 3:30 PM, Room 3137, Legislative Building (401 South Carson Street). Testify face-to-face and let them feel the heat.
Phone In: Dial (888) 475-4499 on April 8, use Meeting ID 87252058354, and press # twice. You’ve got two minutes, make ‘em count. Call (775) 684-1300 for help.
Write an Exhibit: Draft a PDF with “AB499”, “Oppose”, your name, and why this bill’s a disaster. Email it to AsmLOE@asm.state.nv.us.
Email the Committee: Flood these inboxes with your opposition: lisa.cole@asm.state.nv.us, Jill.Dickman@asm.state.nv.us, rebecca.edgeworth@asm.state.nv.us, Cecelia.Gonzalez@asm.state.nv.us, Brian.Hibbetts@asm.state.nv.us, Sandra.Jauregui@asm.state.nv.us, Brittney.Miller@asm.state.nv.us, Daniele.MonroeMoreno@asm.state.nv.us, cinthia.moore@asm.state.nv.us, Erica.Mosca@asm.state.nv.us, hanadi.nadeem@asm.state.nv.us.
Submit an Opinion Online TODAY: Visit AB499’s page, click “OPINIONS” in the top right, fill out your info, and unload your stance. Do it TODAY.
This isn’t just about a bill, it’s about who controls our elections. Act now, or we’ll all be asking, “Who really WON?” come November.
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