Nevada Voter ID Initiative To Appear On 2024 Ballot

Repair The Vote PAC has announced that the Nevada Secretary of State has verified enough signatures for a Voter ID initiative to appear on the November ballot.

According to the Secretary of State, 131,590 signatures were verified out of the 179,000 signatures submitted. The initiative needed 102,362 state-verified signatures amassed from each congressional district (25,591 signatures) to meet Nevada’s legal requirement. Now that the constitutional initiative is certified, voters will need to pass it twice in the next two elections (2024 and 2026) to take effect.

The initiative strengthens Nevada’s voting laws that were unilaterally changed by the Democratic majority in a special session of the legislature during the pandemic. Passed in 2021 and signed by Democratic Governor Steve Sisolak, the partisan legislation codified unlimited ballot harvesting, ballots by mail to all actively-registered voters, and extended deadlines for mail-in ballots. Nevada does not require any voter to provide identification before voting, but relies on subjective signature verification.

In a press release, Repair The Vote stated:

“This accomplishment confirms the widespread public endorsement and bipartisan support of this critical measure and propels the initiative forward to the November ballot. Nevadans will now have the opportunity to make their voices heard on this momentous initiative.

The initiative will seek that each voter in Nevada will present photo identification when voting in person at polling places, and if voting by mail, requires the last four digits of their Nevada driver’s license or social security number. This measure aims to bolster the integrity and confidence of the electoral process. This is the first line of defense against fraud and a basic way of ensuring that every vote is legitimate.”

“We are elated to have met another massive milestone in this process; now it is up to Nevadans,” said David Gibbs, Chairman of Repair The Vote PAC.

Their multi-year effort to amend the state constitution was met with lawfare led by Marc Elias’ legal group and democratic activists.

Yet, after a series of legal challenges, the Nevada Supreme Court unanimously approved the initiative to move forward, agreeing with a district court’s ruling that the initiative did not contain an unfunded mandate and the petition’s “description of effect” was, in fact, straightforward, succinct, and a non-argumentative summary.

During his State of the State address, Governor Joe Lombardo vowed to implement voter ID either through legislation or “at the ballot box.” During the Democratic response to Governor Lombardo’s address, Speaker of the Assembly Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) proclaimed that any legislation related to election integrity would be “dead on arrival.” When The Globe asked Democratic leadership about Lombardo’s voter ID proposal, Attorney General Aaron Ford claimed that voter ID was “unconstitutional.”

Subsequently, legislation introduced by Governor Lombardo and Republican lawmakers was blocked by the Democratic majority.

This legislative firewall and the Supreme Court decision engaged Republican candidates and organizations, law firms, volunteers and donors to assist in the signature gathering effort.

Governor Lombardo’s aligned Better Nevada PAC contributed more than $1.5 million to an affiliated PAC to ensure that his blocked voter ID legislation would appear before Nevada voters in November. As reported by the Globe, 74 percent of Nevadans support Voter ID, including a majority of Democrats and Independents.

Lombardo-endorsed April Arndt, GOP candidate for Assembly District 21, announced she had gathered 800 signatures in her district to “Protect the Vote.” Arndt will face democratic incumbent Assemblywoman Elaine Marzola.

Protect the Vote Nevada pic.twitter.com/9UShtuF4Bt

— April Arndt (@AprilArndtNV) June 6, 2024

Keystone Corporation partnered with Repair the Vote in collection signatures at various locations throughout the Silver State. Keystone’s Director of Operations Courtney Weaver provided the following statement to The Globe:

“We are thrilled with the news that the Nevada Secretary of State has confirmed enough signatures to get the Voter ID initiative on the ballot this fall. This is a monumental step for election integrity in Nevada and demonstrates overwhelming support from Nevadans across all demographics.

We extend our deepest gratitude to David Gibbs, Keystone Board Director and Chairman of Repair the Vote PAC, whose leadership was instrumental in this achievement. Additionally, we thank the entire Repair the Vote team, as well as all the volunteers, businesses, and organizations who made this possible.

We also want to extend our heartfelt thanks to Governor Lombardo and his team for their unwavering support and hard work in making this happen.

At Keystone, we are committed to ensuring fair and secure elections, and this initiative is a vital part of that mission. We look forward to continuing our efforts to educate and engage voters leading up to the November election.”