Nevada
Indy Explains: How Question 7 would require voter ID in Nevada – The Nevada Independent
After years of Republican-led pushes to implement voter ID laws in Nevada, the question will be posed to voters this November.
Voter ID is among the many election-related policies that have pitted Democrats against Republicans nationwide for years. Republicans have argued it is a necessary measure to ensure election security, while Democrats have said it could disenfranchise voters who do not have a form of identification.
While polling has shown wide support for establishing a voter ID requirement, Nevada is one of 14 states to not require a form of identification while voting, and instead relies on voters’ signatures to verify their identity.
Read below for more information on the implications of the ballot question and the history of the debate in the Silver State.
Summary of what it does: The proposal would amend the Nevada Constitution to require all in-person voters in Nevada to present a valid photo identification — such as a driver’s license, passport, student ID card or concealed weapon permit — before voting.
It would also require those voting by mail to include part of a personally identifiable number — such as their driver’s license number or Social Security number — alongside their signature.
If a majority of voters support the question this year, it would be placed on the 2026 ballot, when another affirmative vote would change Nevada’s Constitution.
How did we get here?: Repair the Vote, a PAC led by former Clark County GOP Chair David Gibbs, filed the petition for the ballot question last November.
A group of well-known Democratic-linked attorneys quickly sued to block the question on the grounds that its description of effect (a 200-word summary of the measure included on signature forms) failed to outline its full implications. The suit also argued that the measure would require a funding source without providing one, and that it was akin to an unconstitutional poll tax because most of the identification options require some kind of payment.
A Carson City judge dismissed the lawsuit in February, and the state Supreme Court upheld that ruling in April, determining that questions regarding a poll tax should not be addressed before the election.
In July, the initiative qualified for the November ballot after election officials verified 131,590 valid signatures and passed the threshold of signatures needed from each of the state’s four congressional districts (25,591).
This is the second attempt at a voter ID ballot question by Repair the Vote. In 2022, a judge blocked a question on the grounds that its description of effect was argumentative. The ruling came too late for the group to amend the question’s language and gather enough signatures.
A bill last year pushed by Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, would have established voter ID in Nevada, but it never received a hearing in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
What have other states done?: Nine states have enacted strict photo ID laws for voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Three states have voter ID requirements but do not require a photo and instead accept documents such as bank statements.
Twenty-four other states have some form of a voter ID law, but they are less strict and have exceptions, such as signing an affidavit of identity or having poll workers vouch for a voter’s identity.
The arguments in favor: Proponents of voter ID say it increases election security and would help rebuild trust in elections. They also say that ID is required for actions such as buying alcohol, seeing a doctor and applying for college — and that elections should be no different.
Supporters are also quick to refer to the widespread popularity of voter ID laws (a Nevada Independent poll last year found 74 percent of respondents in favor, with just 8 percent opposed) and a 2008 study that found the laws had no effect on voter turnout.
The arguments against: Opponents of voter ID laws say it would make it harder to vote and could amount to disenfranchisement.
They argue that voter impersonation is essentially nonexistent in the U.S. and that the law would particularly affect voters in rural areas and tribal communities because of the long distance to DMV offices. A 2022 study by University of California, Berkeley researchers found Black and Latino voters were most affected by voter ID laws in Texas.
Primary funders: Repair the Vote has received more than $300,000 since launching the ballot initiative, mostly from a Virginia-based group called Civic Voter Engagement ($157,000) and Allen Knudson, a Henderson resident who gave $100,000 in January.
The Las Vegas Sands, whose largest shareholder is GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, also has financially supported the effort.
The Better Nevada PAC, which is linked to Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, created an offshoot PAC called the Better Nevada Ballot Advocacy Committee (now known as the Nevada Voter ID Coalition, which is chaired by Lombardo) to raise money for the initiative. Las Vegas Sands made a $1.5 million contribution to the Better Nevada PAC earlier this year, which then transferred $1.4 million to the offshoot PAC.
Battle Born Progress — a progressive group — launched a PAC last month called the Nevada Voter Freedom Alliance to oppose the initiative.
Financial impact: The secretary of state’s office estimated that the initiative would cost the state $6,750 to change processes related to voter check-in and verification of mail ballots, and modify the state’s voter registration system to ensure all necessary data is captured.
The Legislature’s Fiscal Analysis Division also assumed that the state or local governments would incur costs by making the accepted IDs free (to avoid a poll tax). It is unclear how many voters this would apply to and which agencies would be responsible, meaning the full financial impact is unknown.
The expected vote is the total number of votes that are expected in a given race once all votes are counted. This number is an estimate and is based on several different factors, including information on the number of votes cast early as well as information provided to our vote reporters on Election Day from county election officials. The figure can change as NBC News gathers new information.
Source: Vote data via the Associated Press. Projections by the NBC News Decision Desk.
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevadans are choosing their party nominees Tuesday for two closely watched congressional seats and the governor’s race, among others, as the state grapples with an affordable housing shortage, exploding energy demand from data centers and federal cuts to key state programs.
The state has a closed primary, meaning only registered Democrats and Republicans will vote in party contests after an effort to open them up failed in 2024.
Several primaries feature matchups between candidates backed by party leaders and political outsiders promising change. Come November, the governor’s race is considered one of the most competitive in the country, and holding on to the 3rd Congressional District is considered crucial for Democrats’ hope of retaking the U.S. House.
Here’s a look at the most prominent races:
Democrats seek a rival for Lombardo
Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, is considered one of the most vulnerable governors in the country this fall.
The Democrats vying to challenge him include state Attorney General Aaron Ford, who has the backing of the Democratic congressional delegation and former Vice President Kamala Harris, and Alexis Hill, a county commissioner in northern Nevada who campaigned as a candidate willing to shake things up.
They focused their campaigns on affordability, as the state continues to see a shortage of affordable housing, some of the highest gas prices in the country and cuts to federal healthcare and food assistance programs.
Ford largely ignored Hill, instead directing his attacks at Lombardo and arguing that both the governor and Trump are responsible for Nevadans’ economic woes. He is trying to become Nevada’s first Black governor.
2nd Congressional District
In the Republican contest to replace longtime Rep. Mark Amodei, who is retiring, President Donald Trump has endorsed David Flippo, a loyalist of the president who has never held elected office. Amodei and Lombardo have backed James Settelmeyer, a former state senator with a long political track record.
The district covers northern Nevada and includes Reno and Carson City, the capital, along with an immense rural expanse.
Trump-endorsed candidates have seen successful in primaries elsewhere, underscoring his unrivaled power over the Republican Party as he enters the last years of his presidency. He easily won the district in the 2024 presidential election.
The GOP nominee has a good chance of winning in November, as registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by 70,000 in the 2nd District. A Republican has held the seat since the district was created in the 1980s.
Still, Democrats hope to entice the large number of nonpartisan voters in the district this fall. Their candidates include Teresa Benitez-Thompson, a former majority floor leader of the Nevada Assembly, and Greg Kidd, an investor who ran in the last cycle as a nonpartisan.
3rd Congressional District
Nevada’s other three members of Congress, all Democrats, are expected to win their primaries easily.
In the 3rd District, Republicans are battling to determine who will face Democratic Rep. Susie Lee in what is considered the most competitive congressional district in Nevada because of its narrow Democratic registration advantage, its high number of nonpartisan voters and a history of razor-thin election margins. In 2024 both Lee and Trump won narrowly.
Candidates include Trump-backed Marty O’Donnell, a composer who worked on the “Halo” video game series and ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2024; Jeff Gunter, a dermatologist and former ambassador to Iceland; neurosurgeon Aury Nagy; and businessperson Tera Anderson.
The candidates ran on border security, energy independence and decreasing the federal debt.
Attorney general
With Ford term-limited and running for governor, the opening has prompted competitive primaries for the state’s top law enforcement post.
The Democratic side features state Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro and Treasurer Zach Conine. Both campaigned on promises to take on the Trump administration, following in the footsteps of Ford, who filed numerous lawsuits against the federal government.
For the Republicans, Trump-backed attorney Adriana Guzmán Fralick faces Douglas County commissioner Danny Tarkanian. Tarkanian, son of legendary University of Nevada, Las Vegas basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian, previously ran unsuccessfully in multiple congressional races.
Both candidates campaigned on “election integrity,” casting doubt on voting security. Nevada is one of the swing states in which Trump falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen, despite officials finding no evidence of widespread fraud.
Tarkanian promised to investigate voter fraud allegations, while Guzmán Fralick vowed to seek passage of the SAVE Nevada Act, which would be similar to changes Trump has sought at the federal level.
Her legislation would require all votes to be counted on Election Day, end universal mail ballots and eliminate automatic voter registration. It would almost certainly hit a dead end in the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
GOP secretary of state candidates question Nevada’s elections
Several Republicans are running for secretary of state, the office that oversees elections, including some who falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen from Trump. The winner of the primary will take on Democratic Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar.
The GOP candidates include Jim Marchant, a former state lawmaker and perennial candidate who has said the 2020 election “was probably stolen”; Sharron Angle, a former state lawmaker who was part of an effort to block the certification of Nevada’s 2020 election results; and Shirley Folkins-Roberts, an attorney who received Lombardo’s endorsement and has denied there is widespread fraud in Nevada’s elections.
All the candidates support implementing voter ID, which will be on the ballot for the second time in November after the question passed by a wide margin in 2024.
Angle promises to enforce voter ID if voters pass it and supports Trump’s executive order seeking to require documentary proof of citizenship to vote. The courts have so far halted that order, issued last year, from taking effect.
Marchant wants to eliminate electronic voting machines and end the state’s universal mail ballot system. He also wants to require paper ballots, which would be counted by hand, according to his campaign website.
Folkins-Roberts said she will work to keep voter rolls accurate and up-to-date, require voter ID and ensure that election results are delivered on time. She also wants to reverse the automatic voter registration system. In an interview with News 4 Reno, Folkins-Roberts said she believes Nevada’s elections are “good,” but wants to improve voters’ confidence by making changes.
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — We’ll start the week with a heightened fire danger with dangerous heat later this week.
TODAY
Expect mostly sunny skies with winds picking up again on Monday. High temperatures will reach 98 degrees in Las Vegas with south winds 10-20 mph and wind gusts up to 30 mph.
A RED FLAG WARNING is in place from 10am to 9pm Monday for gusty winds and dry weather, so if a fire started, it would spread quickly.
Winds are estimated to be 20-25 mph with gusts around 40 mph at times with relative humidity of 5%-15%.
Air quality is ranked ‘good’ to ‘moderate’ for dust and tree pollen. The most common pollens are juniper, cedar, willow, sycamore and palm.
TONIGHT
We’ll see variable clouds this evening with skies going from mostly cloudy to mostly clear overnight.
Wind gusts will pick up again before midnight with gusts 30-40 mph possible downslope of the Spring Mountains in the west valley.
Elsewhere, gusts will be 20-30 mph. Breezes will eventually back down to 5-15 mph overnight. Valley lows will drop to around 74 degrees.
WHAT’S NEXT
We have reached 109 consecutive days without measurable rain in Las Vegas.
No rain is in sight, but for perspective, June is the driest month of the year in Las Vegas. Fingers crossed on a hopefully more active monsoon season!
High pressure builds next with highs 5-10 degrees above normal. Temperatures will reach around 108 degrees in Las Vegas by Friday. The last time we hit a high temperature of 108 degrees was back on August 20th of last year.
Not much relief is in sight by the weekend with highs around 107 degrees and temps at or above 105-106 degrees NEXT Monday through Wednesday.
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