AB534 - Revises provisions relating to elections. (BDR 24-975)

- 83rd Session (2025) Assembly Bill No. 534–Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections CHAPTER.......... AN ACT relating to elections; revising provisions relating to voter registration and updating voter registration information; renaming certain provisional ballots to “conditional ballots”; revising provisions relating to certain petitions; revising provisions relating to the publication of certain information by a county clerk; revising provisions relating mail ballots; revising provisions relating to the testing of certain technology prior to an election; defining the term “personal knowledge” for purposes of certain challenges; revising provisions relating to risk-limiting audits; revising provisions relating to certain prohibited conduct in or around a polling place; revising provisions relating to mechanical voting systems; authorizing, under certain circumstances, the Secretary of State to adjust the date of the presidential preference primary election; creating the Voter Access Grant Program and the Account for the Voter Access Grant Program; making various other changes relating to elections; and providing other matters properly relating thereto. Legislative Counsel’s Digest: Section 3 of this bill requires, with limited exception, a county or city clerk to respond within 2 working days after receiving any request from the Secretary of State for information or data relating to the current election cycle. Section 4 of this bill provides that if an active registered voter moves to another county and registers to vote therein, which may include, without limitation, an application to register to vote which is transmitted to a county clerk from an automatic voter registration agency, it shall be deemed that the voter is updating his or her voter registration rather than registering to vote and, with certain exceptions, the voter must not be required to cast a provisional ballot on the basis of such an update. Existing law sets forth certain procedures governing the use of provisional ballots by registered voters who update their voter registration information after the close of registration for an election and by electors who register to vote in person or by computer during certain periods of time leading up to and during an election. Specifically, existing law: (1) with certain exceptions, requires an elector who is deemed conditionally registered to vote under such circumstances to cast his or her vote by a provisional ballot; and (2) authorizes a county or city clerk, under certain circumstances, to require a registered voter who updates his or her voter registration to cast a provisional ballot in an election. (NRS 293.5772-293.5887) Sections 5, 23, 26, 32 and 38-47 of this bill rename ballots cast under such circumstances to be “conditional ballots.” Existing law requires certain petitions to be submitted to a county clerk for verification of the signatures on the petition and sets forth certain deadlines for such submission. (NRS 293.128, 293.172, 293.200, 295.056, 298.109, 306.035, 306.110) Section 65 of this bill authorizes a county clerk, under certain circumstances, to – 2 – - 83rd Session (2025) delay beginning verification for petitions for referendum and certain initiatives. (NRS 295.056) Existing law requires, after the submission of certain petitions containing signatures which are required to be verified, the county clerk to determine the number of signatures affixed to the documents and forward that information to the Secretary of State. (NRS 293.1276) Section 6 of this bill increases the time provided to a county clerk to make such a determination: (1) for a petition to place the name of a candidate for partisan office of a minor political party or an independent candidate for partisan office on the ballot, from 2 working days to 7 working days; and (2) for any other petition which is required to be submitted for such purposes, from 4 working days to 9 working days. If the Secretary of State finds that the total number of signatures submitted to all the county clerks is 100 percent or more of the number of registered voters needed to declare the petition sufficient, existing law requires: (1) the Secretary of State to immediately notify the county clerks; and (2) each of the county clerks, after the receipt of such notification, to determine the number of registered voters who have signed the document. (NRS 293.1277) Section 7 of this bill increases the time provided to a county clerk to make such a determination: (1) for a petition to recall a public officer who holds a statewide office, from 20 working days to 25 working days; (2) for a petition to place the name of a candidate for partisan office of a minor political party or an independent candidate for partisan office on the ballot, from 3 working days to 8 working days; and (3) for any other petition which is required to be submitted for such purposes, from 9 working days to 14 working days. Sections 8 and 11 of this bill require a petition to place the name of a candidate for partisan office of a minor political party or an independent candidate for partisan office on the ballot be submitted to the county clerk for verification or filing, respectively, not later than 25 working days, rather than 10 working days, before the last day to file the petition. Existing law requires that the petition of candidacy for an independent candidate for partisan office be filed not earlier than the first Monday in March of the year in which the election is to be held and not later than the third Friday in June. (NRS 293.200) Section 11 instead provides that a petition of candidacy for an independent candidate for partisan office must not be filed earlier than the second Monday after the primary election and not later than the third Friday after the primary election. Section 11 additionally: (1) requires such a petition to be submitted to the county clerk for verification during this period of time; and (2) provides that if such a petition is submitted in a timely manner but the Secretary of State receives certificates from the county clerks showing the petition has met certain requirements after this deadline, the petition is deemed to be timely filed. Existing law requires a county clerk to publish certain information concerning elections in a newspaper of general circulation. (NRS 293.203, 293.253, 293.3073, 293.3576, 293.391, 293.464, 298.670) Sections 12, 25, 27, 28, 31 and 68 of this bill instead require the county clerk to publish such notices in such a manner as the county clerk deems proper, which may include, without limitation, publication in a newspaper of general circulation, on the Internet website of the county clerk or on the social media account of the county clerk. Under existing law, the Secretary of State is required to cause to be published in a newspaper of general circulation, on three separate occasions, in each county of the State, together with any explanatory matter to be placed on the ballot, the entire text of a proposed amendment to the Nevada Constitution which is proposed by an initiative petition. (Nev. Art. 19, § 2; NRS 293.253) Section 17 of this bill authorizes a county clerk to also publish such materials in any other manner as the county clerk deems proper which may include, without limitation, publication on – 3 – - 83rd Session (2025) the Internet website of the county clerk or on the social media account of the county clerk. Existing law requires the Secretary of State to adopt regulations, not inconsistent with the election laws of this State, for the conduct of primary, presidential preference primary, general, special and district elections in all cities and counties. (NRS 293.247) Section 14 of this bill authorizes the Secretary of State to adopt regulations which provide standards for certain reports which are required to be filed by a county or city clerk. Existing law authorizes a mail ballot central counting board to begin counting the received mail ballots 15 days before the day of the election and requires the board to complete the count of all mail ballots on or before the seventh day following the election. (NRS 293.269931, 293C.26331) Sections 20 and 61 of this bill: (1) require, instead of authorize, the mail ballot central counting board to begin counting the received mail ballots 15 days before the day of the election; and (2) require the mail ballot central counting board to process each mail ballot within 24 hours after receipt of the mail ballot unless a waiver is granted by the Secretary of State. Sections 19 and 60 of this bill require the Secretary of State, rather than a county or city clerk, to establish procedures for minimum requirements for the processing and counting of mail ballots. (NRS 293.269925, 293C.26325) Existing law requires a county clerk to: (1) prepare and distribute to certain persons in the county a mail ballot for every election; and (2) allow a voter to elect not to receive such a mail ballot by submitting a written notice to the county clerk which must be received by the county clerk not later than 60 days before the day of the election. (NRS 293.269911) Section 18 of this bill authorizes a voter who elects not to receive a mail ballot to later elect to receive a mail ballot for the election if he or she, not later than 14 days before the election, submits to the county clerk a written notice in the form prescribed by the county clerk. Sections 18 and 59.5 of this bill revise the deadline for distributing a mail ballot to each registered voter who resides within the State from not later than 20 days before the election to instead on or after the fifth Monday before the election but not later than the fourth Monday before the election. Existing law authorizes an elector to vote in the county or city in which the elector is eligible to vote by submitting an application to register to vote by computer using the system established by the Secretary of State before the elector appears at a polling place to vote in person. Existing law further requires an elector who submits an application to register to vote in such a manner less than 14 days before the election to vote in person. (NRS 293.5837, 293.671) Section 41 of this bill instead requires an elector who submits such an application less than 18 days before the election to vote in person. Section 18 requires a county clerk to prepare and distribute a mail ballot to each person who registers to vote or updates his or her voter registration information not later than 18 days, rather than 14 days, before the election. (NRS 293.269911) Existing law requires a county clerk, if the county clerk uses an electronic roster, to complete a test of the electronic roster not earlier than 2 weeks before and not later than 5 p.m. on the day before the first day of the period for early voting by personal appearance to ensure its functionality. (NRS 293.275) Section 22 of this bill prohibits such a test from being completed earlier than 6 weeks, instead of 2 weeks, before the first day of the period for early voting by personal appearance. Section 55 of this bill similarly revises the time period provided in existing law for a county or city clerk to perform certain tests on a mechanical recording device which directly records votes electronically and any automatic tabulating equipment and programs. (NRS 293B.150) – 4 – - 83rd Session (2025) Sections 24 and 33 of this bill define the term “personal knowledge” for purposes of certain provisions of existing law which authorize certain persons to challenge the right of a person to vote and provide that the term does not include knowledge obtained from a third party. (NRS 293.303, 293.535) Existing law requires each county clerk to conduct a risk-limiting audit of the results of an election. (NRS 293.394) Section 29 of this bill renames such audits to “election accuracy audits.” Existing law provides that certain materials used in the completion of logic and accuracy tests must be sealed and deposited in the vaults of the county clerk. (NRS 293B.170) Section 56 of this bill provides that such materials are subject to inspection for the purposes of an election accuracy audit. Section 30 of this bill provides that the term “canvass” as used in certain provisions relating to recounts demanded by a candidate defeated at an election includes, in any general election, the canvass by the Supreme Court of the returns for a candidate for United States Senator or Representative in Congress. (NRS 293.403) Existing law requires a county clerk to cancel the preregistration or registration of a person under certain circumstances and authorizes or requires the reregistration of certain electors whose registration is cancelled. (NRS 293.540, 293.543) Section 34 of this bill requires a county clerk to cancel the preregistration or registration of a person if the county clerk receives, from a person who is within the second degree of consanguinity of the person, a sworn affidavit which indicates the death of the person. Section 35 of this bill requires, if the registration or preregistration of an elector is cancelled under such circumstances and the county clerk later determines that the registration or preregistration should not have been cancelled, the county clerk to reregister or repreregister the elector. Existing law provides that the last day for a person to register to vote for certain elections that are held on the same day as a primary election, presidential preference primary election or general election is, if the person is registering by appearing in person at the office of the county clerk or certain county facilities, the fourth Tuesday preceding the primary election, presidential preference primary election or general election. (NRS 293.560) Section 36 of this bill instead provides that the last day to register to vote in such a manner is the day before the first day of the period for early voting by personal appearance. Section 62 of this bill similarly revises such deadlines for registration for a primary city, general city, recall and special city election if there is a period for early voting for the primary or general city election. Section 37 of this bill requires, if an application to register to vote is received not later than 5 days after the appropriate deadline, a county clerk to accept the application if it is obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles and is completed by, depending on if there is a period for early voting by personal appearance, the day before the first day of the period for early voting by personal appearance or the last day to register to vote by mail. (NRS 293.5727) Existi [Text truncated for display. Full text available on LegiScan.]