Nevada

How Nevada’s elections will change with new 2025 laws

Published

6 months ago

June 20, 2025

How Nevada’s elections will change with new 2025 laws

New laws from the 2025 legislative session aim to increase accessibility to Nevada’s elections and improve voters’ experiences.

Election reform was a major focus in Carson City, though bills that sought to drastically change Nevada’s elections were blocked by the governor, including legislation to implement voter ID requirements and to allow nonpartisan voters to participate in primaries.

Other bills seeking changes were successful, from requiring that sample ballots be sent before official mail ballots to disclosing campaign advertisements made with artificial intelligence.

“Everything we tried to do this session has been focused on the voter experience and the voter perspective,” said Democratic Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar.

The major highlights

Aguilar said the biggest highlight from the legislative session for him was the continued investment into modernizing the state’s voter registration system.

Nevada appropriated over $27 million to go toward merging Clark County with the other 16 counties into one Voter Registration Election Management Solution system, known as VREMS.

Last August, the state launched its top-down voter registration and election management system, which collects and stores voter registration information from all counties. Clark County implemented the system in 2023, and the 16 other counties joined the program in 2024. Now, the two will merge together, Aguilar said.

Aguilar said putting all the counties on one system will allow the state to do a better job with voter rolls and build transparency by providing real-time information about the elections process.

“There’s consistency from county to county,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “There’s consistency in polling location to polling location. The security and safety of the election is stronger because everybody’s operating off of one unified system that has strong cybersecurity.”

The secretary of state’s office was also provided $1.5 million for voter education and outreach through Senate Bill 488. That money will allow counties to send text messages to voters about upcoming elections or if their ballot signatures need curing.

Other new laws aim to improve voters’ experience, Aguilar said.

For instance, sample ballots now must be mailed before mail ballots, thanks to a new law put forward by Republican Assemblymember Gregory Hafen and Democratic Speaker Steve Yeager. In 2024, voters expressed confusion when they received their official mail ballots before their sample ballots, which provide voter information about what will appear on the official ballot and includes pros and cons for each ballot question.

County or city clerks must also recruit election board officers for polling places on tribal reservations and provide them with training on the reservation, unless a tribe opts to not participate, thanks to the passage of Senate Bill 421, which aims to increase voter participation in Nevada’s Indigenous communities.

The new law expands on a bill passed in the 2023 Legislature requiring clerks to establish polling places and ballot drop boxes on tribal lands. There were staffing shortages in several locations, including the Shoshone Paiute Tribe of Duck Valley, which had to raise more than $5,000 to staff their polling place, according to Jennifer Willett, the Nevada senior campaign manager for All Voting is Local.

“It’s a minor shift, but it’ll impact a lot of people,” Willett said. “Over time, people will know that they can go there, and they’ll be able to vote in their community confidently at a staffed polling place.”

Another new law, AB 367, aims to improve accessibility to non-English speaking voters. The law creates a language access coordinator in the secretary of state’s office and requires the office to make sure voting materials and other election information are available in at least seven of the most commonly spoken languages in Nevada.

It also requires the secretary of state to establish a toll-free telephone number voters can use to receive language interpretation assistance for an election. A voter who may be deaf or hard of hearing can also use a mobile device to access interpretive services including American Sign Language. Aguilar said his office was doing that work already, but the bill codifies those practices into law.

Nevada is the third most diverse state in the nation, with one in three Nevadans speaking a language other than English at home and nearly 4 percent of Nevadans having a hearing difficulty, Willett said.

“We think that dismantling any barriers for people that don’t speak English as their first language, or aren’t comfortable speaking English, should be able to register to vote, learn about voting and candidates and cast their ballot using any options that they want,” Willett said.

Chuck Muth, a conservative blogger who has long fought to clean up the state’s voter rolls, said overall he thinks session was a “wash” when it came to election reform. Lombardo vetoed bills that Muth said would have harmed Nevada, but not much was done to enhance election security, he said. Muth would have liked to see changes to the mail ballot deadline so that they could not arrive after Election Day, though less than 1 percent of ballots arrive after Election Day, according to Aguilar.

Campaigning changes

Nevadans can expect to see some changes to campaigning ahead of future elections.

Any AI-generated campaign communication — such as a campaign advertisement supporting or opposing a candidate — must disclose that it was made with artificial intelligence after the passage of AB 73.

The new law addresses the rising use of AI-generated materials as a cost-effective alternative to traditional ways of creating content, and it comes on the heels of experts expressing concern about the role artificial intelligence will play in elections.

Aguilar said the goal of the law is to give voters the context and the source of the information that they’re seeing and relying on when deciding how to vote.

Muth said he discloses when he uses AI in his newsletter, but he thinks that should be voluntary.

“I just think it’s probably problematic whenever the government gets involved,” Muth said.

Another new law to reduce intimidation and violence in campaigns. AB 123 prohibits a person from making statements that threaten or intimidate a candidate for public office.

The law was sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember Hanadi Nadeem, the first Muslim woman elected to the Legislature. She put forward the bill after experiencing death threats while running for Assembly.

“It was truly a horrific experience I do not wish upon anyone, whether it be a fellow candidate, voter or Nevadan,” Nadeem said during the bill’s hearing. “No one should have to fear for their life or to be discouraged from running for office because of the actions of another.”

Aguilar said that bill goes back to overall safety and security of elections, and it also encourages participation.

“We want people to run for office because the more diverse perspective we get, the stronger the state we’re going to be,” Aguilar said. “And if people aren’t running because they’re fearful, that’s the problem.”

Another new law, AB 491, requires elected officers to be registered to vote in the state, district, county or township where the officer is required to reside.

“That’s the intent, I think, and hopefully it acts as an encouragement to say, if you’re going to run for office, that you actually live in the community you’re voted to represent,” Aguilar said.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.

Source link

Nevada

Bill by Nevada’s Amodei to ramp up mining on public land passes House

Published

5 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Bill by Nevada’s Amodei to ramp up mining on public land passes House

The U.S. House passed a bill Thursday put forward by Nevada Rep. Mark Amodei that would reinvigorate mining activity on federal lands.

Amodei, a Republican who represents the state’s top half, described the bill as strengthening the nation’s mineral supply chain and helping to counter China’s dominance with minerals.

“Western states are sitting on a wealth of resources and a critical opportunity to break our dangerous reliance on foreign adversaries while powering our own economy,” he said in a statement.

“The Mining Regulatory Clarity Act … gives domestic mining operations the certainty they need to compete aggressively and win.”

The bill passed 219 to 198. Republicans voted 210 in favor, 1 opposed and 9 not voting. Democrats voted 9 in favor, 197 opposed and 7 not voting. It was one of the House’s last actions before adjourning for the year.

Nevada delegation split on mining bill

Amodei was joined by Las Vegas Democrat Steven Horsford, who co-sponsored the bill in the House.

“Streamlining the hardrock mining process will create good jobs and strengthen our energy sector,” Horsford said.

The state’s other two House members — Democrats Susie Lee and Dina Titus — voted in opposition.

Titus spokesperson Dick Cooper told the Reno Gazette Journal that the congresswoman voted no because the bill would allow for increased dumping of mine waste on public lands.

“It would also allow mining companies to gain permanent rights to occupy public lands and preclude other uses including recreational and cultural uses,” he added.

It now heads to the Senate, where Nevada Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto will work to get it passed.

“This bill is common sense, and it’s key for communities across Nevada that count on mining for their livelihoods,” Cortez Masto said in a social media post.

Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada, a Democrat, also supports it. She helped introduce the Senate companion version of Amodei’s bill.

“Nevada is one of the few places in the United States with an abundance of critical minerals and a robust hardrock mining industry,” Rosen said. “The responsible mining of these minerals supports thousands of jobs and will help to strengthen our domestic manufacturing and clean energy supply chains.”

What does Amodei’s Mining Regulatory Clarity Act do?

The bill is a response to a 2022 decision by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals involving the Rosemont Copper Mine in Arizona.

The decision basically meant that mining companies must prove valuable minerals exist on a piece of land before they can dump waste material on it. Called the “mineral validity” requirement, it disrupted decades of precedent.

Amodei’s bill would reverse that and allow the practice to resume of using nearby land for mining waste without proving the land contains commercial deposits — something mining companies say is essential for operating on federal land.

“This legislation ensures the fundamental ability to conduct responsible mining activities on federal lands,” said Rich Nolan, National Mining Association president and CEO, in a statement. “Regulatory certainty, or the lack thereof, will either underpin or undermine efforts to decisively confront our minerals crisis.”

The bill also creates an “Abandoned Hardrock Mine Fund.” Some fees related to mining claims will be used to fund a program to inventory, assess and clean up abandoned hardrock mines.

Environmental groups blast House vote on Mining Regulatory Clarity Act

Some environmental groups campaigned against the bill and described it as choosing corporate interests over people, Native Americans’ rights and the environment.

Lauren Pagel, policy director for Earthworks, said the bill “will remove already-scarce protections for natural resources and sacred cultural sites in U.S. mining law.”

The Center for Biological Diversity said the bill surrenders public lands to mining conglomerates.

“The so-called Mining Regulatory Clarity Act would bypass the validity requirement and grant mining companies — including foreign companies — the statutory right to permanently occupy and indiscriminately use public lands upon approval of a company’s self-written plan of operations,” said the nonprofit conservation organization in an online post.

Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to mrobison@rgj.com or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.

Source link

Nevada

California school district near Nevada caught up in a dispute over transgender athlete policies – WTOP News

Published

17 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

California school district near Nevada caught up in a dispute over transgender athlete policies – WTOP News

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Lake Tahoe school district is caught between California and Nevada’s competing policies on transgender student…

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A Lake Tahoe school district is caught between California and Nevada’s competing policies on transgender student athletes, a dispute that’s poised to reorder where the district’s students compete.

High schools in California’s Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District, set in a mountainous, snow-prone area near the border with Nevada, have for decades competed in the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association, or NIAA. That has allowed sports teams to avoid making frequent and potentially hazardous trips in poor winter weather to competitions farther to the west, district officials say.

But the Nevada association voted in April to require students in sex-segregated sports programs to play on teams that align with their sex assigned at birth — a departure from a previous approach allowing individual schools to set their own standards. The move raised questions for how the Tahoe-Truckee district would remain in the Nevada association while following California law, which says students can play on teams consistent with their gender identity.

Now, California’s Department of Education is requiring the district to join the California Interscholastic Federation, or CIF, by the start of next school year.

District Superintendent Kerstin Kramer said at a school board meeting this week the demand puts the district in a difficult position.

“No matter which authority we’re complying with we are leaving students behind,” she said. “So we have been stuck.”

There are currently no known transgender student athletes competing in high school sports in Tahoe-Truckee Unified, district officials told the education department in a letter. But a former student filed a complaint with the state in June after the board decided to stick with Nevada athletics, Kramer said.

A national debate

The dispute comes amid a nationwide battle over the rights of transgender youth in which states have restricted transgender girls from participating on girls sports teams, barred gender-affirming surgeries for minors and required parents to be notified if a child changes their pronouns at school. At least 24 states have laws barring transgender women and girls from participating in certain sports competitions. Some of the policies have been blocked in court.

Meanwhile, California is fighting the Trump administration in court over transgender athlete policies. President Donald Trump issued an executive order in February aimed at banning transgender women and girls from participating in female athletics. The U.S. Justice Department also sued the California Department of Education in July, alleging its policy allowing transgender girls to compete on girls sports teams violates federal law.

And Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has signedlaws aimed at protecting trans youth, shocked party allies in March when he raised questions on his podcast about the fairness of trans women and girls competing against other female athletes. His office did not comment on the Tahoe-Truckee Unified case, but said Newsom “rejects the right wing’s cynical attempt to weaponize this debate as an excuse to vilify individual kids.”

The state education department said in a statement that all California districts must follow the law regardless of which state’s athletic association they join.

At the Tahoe-Truckee school board meeting this week, some parents and one student said they opposed allowing trans girls to participate on girls teams.

“I don’t see how it would be fair for female athletes to compete against a biological male because they’re stronger, they’re taller, they’re faster,” said Ava Cockrum, a Truckee High School student on the track and field team. “It’s just not fair.”

But Beth Curtis, a civil rights attorney whose children attended schools in Tahoe-Truckee Unified, said the district should fight NIAA from implementing its trans student athlete policy as violating the Nevada Constitution.

Asking for more time

The district has drafted a plan to transition to the California federation by the 2028-2029 school year after state officials ordered it to take action. It’s awaiting the education department’s response.

Curtis doesn’t think the state will allow the district to delay joining CIF, the California federation, another two years, noting the education department is vigorously defending its law against the Trump administration: “They’re not going to fight to uphold the law and say to you at the same time, ‘Okay, you can ignore it for two years.’”

Tahoe-Truckee Unified’s two high schools with athletic programs, which are located about 6,000 feet (1,800 meters) in elevation, compete against both California and Nevada teams in nearby mountain towns — and others more distant and closer to sea level. If the district moves to the California federation, Tahoe-Truckee Unified teams may have to travel more often in bad weather across a risky mountain pass — about 7,000 feet (2,100 meters) in elevation above a lake — to reach schools farther from state lines.

Coleville High School, a small California school in the Eastern Sierra near the Nevada border, has also long been a member of the Nevada association, said Heidi Torix, superintendent of the Eastern Sierra Unified School District. The school abides by California law regarding transgender athletes, Torix said.

The school has not been similarly ordered by California to switch where it competes. The California Department of Education did not respond to requests for comment on whether it’s warned any other districts not in the California federation about possible noncompliance with state policy.

State Assemblymember Heather Hadwick, a Republican representing a large region of northern California bordering Nevada, said Tahoe-Truckee Unified shouldn’t be forced to join the CIF.

“I urge California Department of Education and state officials to fully consider the real-world consequences of this decision—not in theory, but on the ground—where weather, geography, and safety matter,” Hadwick said.

Copyright
© 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Source link

Nevada

Proactive power outage slated for northwestern Nevada

Published

1 day ago

December 18, 2025

Press Room

Proactive power outage slated for northwestern Nevada

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Because of heightened fire weather conditions forecast for northwestern Nevada, a proactive outage is slated for Friday, Dec. 19, in Carson City, Clear Creek, Jack’s Valley, Genoa and Glenbrook from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to a NV Energy news release.

The outage would affect about 715 customers, the release said.

During a Public Safety Outage Management event, the utility proactively de-energizes power for customers in high-risk zones to help protect the community and environment from wildfires, the release said.

If weather conditions change, the potential proactive outage will be adjusted or cancelled.

Customers potentially impacted have been notified via phone, text messages and email.

NV Energy will continue to monitor conditions and provide updates.

The outage timeframe includes the duration of the weather event and an estimated time for crews to inspect the lines for damage, vegetation or debris to begin safely restoring power.

The restoration time may change based on weather conditions or if repairs to equipment need to be made.

Source link