John Locher/AP
A county worker loads mail-in ballots into a scanner that records the votes at a tabulating area at the Clark County Election Department, Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, in Las Vegas.
Wednesday, March 17, 2021 | 4:44 p.m.
CARSON CITY — Changes made to the voting process in Nevada because of the COVID-19 pandemic could become permanent, as lawmakers have proposed legislation to cement expanded mail-in voting in state statute.
Assembly Speaker Jason Frierson, D-Las Vegas, and Majority Floor Leader Teresa Benitez-Thompson, D-Reno, introduced a mammoth elections bill today that would make permanent emergency voting provisions passed last year to send mail-in ballots to every active voter in the state.
“It wouldn’t be consistent with Nevada’s independent spirit to take that option away from voters,” Frierson said previously.
Assembly Bill 321 would let voters opt out of receiving the mail ballots. It would also establish signature verification procedures and require county clerks and elections staff to take an annual forensic signature verification class.
The secretary of state would also have to compare the statewide voter registration list with death records at least once a month.
The return window for mail ballots would also shrink from 5 p.m. on the seventh day after the election to 5 p.m. on the fourth day after the election.
Voters in Nevada would received ballots at least 20 days before the election. Residents living out of state would get them at least 40 days in advance.
The passage of expanded mail-in voting was followed by backlash from Republicans, who said mail ballots resulted in large-scale voter fraud.
There has been no evidence to support that claim. But research has shown Democrats are more likely than Republicans to take advantage of mail-in voting.
Still, the argument, bolstered by former President Donald Trump’s continued claims of rigged elections, has continued.
State GOP leaders this month delivered four boxes ofmaterial they claimed was proof of over 120,000 cases of voter fraud to the Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske’s office.
On Tuesday, Cegavske announced 3,963 election integrity violation reports, some already under investigation by law enforcement.
Assembly Bill 321 is the latest of a number of election measures which have come up during the ongoing session. Another bill from Frierson that would move Nevada to the front of the line in presidential nominating contests.
