Nevada Assembly Bill Could Make Vote by Mail Permanent

A bill that was recently introduced to the Nevada Assembly could make vote-by-mail permanent in the state.

Assembly Bill 321 is scheduled for a hearing before the Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections on Thursday afternoon. It would implement the same voting system Nevada and other states used in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic for all elections going forward.

If passed, all registered, active voters in Nevada would automatically receive a mail-in ballot before primary and general elections under the legislation.

The bill would also require voter registration lists be updated each month with death records.

Voters would also be able to request that someone else fill out and deliver their ballots in a practice known as “ballot harvesting.”

GOP state lawmakers criticized the bill preceding AB 321, Assembly Bill 4, which dealt with ballot harvesting.

Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson (D-Clark), who sponsored the bill, said it improves election security and increases voter access.

Assembly Minority Leader Robin Titus (R-Churchill, Lyon) was more skeptical, saying the widespread use of mail-in ballots caused distrust in the election system.

“I don’t care if you can prove fraud or not,” Titus said. “The fact that that the seed has been planted, the fact that people distrust the voting process and that integrity. We need to have folks gain trust in that.”

Titus has been pushing several electoral reforms in the state, such as Voter ID, repealing AB 4, and changing voting registrar positions in certain counties from being appointed positions to elected positions.