Revises provisions relating to voter registration. (BDR 24-360)

A.B. 261

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ASSEMBLY BILL NO. 261–COMMITTEE ON
LEGISLATIVE OPERATIONS AND ELECTIONS

(ON BEHALF OF THE JOINT INTERIM STANDING COMMITTEE
ON LEGISLATIVE OPERATIONS AND ELECTIONS

FEBRUARY 19, 2025
____________

Referred to Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections

SUMMARY—Revises provisions relating to voter registration.
(BDR 24-360)

FISCAL NOTE: Effect on Local Government: May have Fiscal Impact.
Effect on the State: Yes.

CONTAINS UNFUNDED MANDATE (§§ 1, 5)
(NOT REQUESTED BY AFFECTED LOCAL GOVERNMENT)

~

EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted.

AN ACT relating to elections; requiring, under certain
circumstances, that a county or city clerk affirmatively
ask whether a registered voter would like to update his or
her signature in the voter registration records of the clerk;
providing, under certain circumstances, that any signature
provided by a voter to cu re a mail ballot becomes the
voter’s signature for purposes of his or her voter
registration; requiring the Secretary of State, rather than
the county clerk, to send certain notices to persons who
register to vote or update their voter registration using t he
automatic voter registration system; and providing other
matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires, with certain exceptions, that in order to vote a mail 1
ballot, a voter must affix his or her signature on th e return envelope in the space 2
provided for the signature. (NRS 293.269917, 293C.26316) Existing law further 3
requires each county or city clerk, as applicable, to check the signature used for the 4
mail ballot. If there is a reasonable question of fact as to whether the signature used 5
for the mail ballot matches the signature of the voter in the records of the clerk, the 6
clerk is required to contact the voter. (NRS 293.269927, 293C.26327) Sections 1 7
and 5 of this bill provide that if the clerk contacts the voter, the clerk must, in 8

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addition to other requirements, a ffirmatively ask whether the voter would like to 9
update his or her signature in the records of the clerk. Unless the voter affirmatively 10
declines to update his or her signature: (1) it shall be deemed that the voter 11
consented to update his or her signature ; and (2) any signature provided by the 12
registered voter to the clerk becomes the voter’s signature for purposes of his or her 13
voter registration. 14
Existing law requires certain governmental agencies to provide services for 15
automatic voter registration. (NRS 293.5768, 293.57682, 293.57684) The Secretary 16
of State and each automatic voter registration agency are required to cooperatively 17
establish a system by which voter registration information that is collected by the 18
automatic voter registration agency is transmitted electronically to the centralized 19
database of voter registration information for purposes of registering a person to 20
vote or updating the voter registration information of a person. (NRS 293.57686, 21
293.57688) Upon transmission of the informati on to the database by an automatic 22
voter registration agency, existing law requires the county clerk to determine 23
whether a person is eligible to register to vote in this State. If the person is eligible 24
to vote, the county clerk must immediately mail a no tice to the current residence 25
that includes certain information, including: (1) a space for the person to indicate a 26
political party affiliation; (2) a space for the person to affirmatively decline to apply 27
to register to vote or have his or her voter regi stration updated, as applicable; (3) a 28
statement setting forth the qualifications to vote in this State and that if the person 29
does not meet the qualifications to vote in this State, the person should return the 30
notice and affirmatively decline in writing to register to vote; (4) a statement 31
explaining that the person may affirmatively decline to register to vote or update his 32
or her voter registration information, as applicable; and (5) a statement setting forth 33
the penalties for submitting a false applica tion to register to vote. (NRS 293.57693) 34
Section 4 of this bill instead requires the Secretary of State to send this notice. 35
Section 3 of this bill makes a conforming change to account for the requirement in 36
section 4 that the Secretary of State, rather than the county clerk, send this notice. 37
Section 2 of this bill makes a conforming change to eliminate the requirement that 38
the county clerk provide written notice of the addition or change to the voter 39
registration information of a voter on the statewide voter registration list as a result 40
of the process for automatic voter registration. 41

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, REPRESENTED IN
SENATE AND ASSEMBLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Chapter 293 of NRS is hereby amended by adding 1
thereto a new section to read as follows: 2
1. If a registered voter is contacted by a county clerk pursuant 3
to NRS 293.269927 because there is a reasonable question of fact 4
as to whether the signature used for the mail ballot matches the 5
signature of the registered voter that is available in the r ecords of 6
the county clerk, the county clerk shall, in addition to the 7
requirements set forth in NRS 293.269927, affirmatively ask 8
whether the registered voter would like to update his or her 9
signature in the records of the county clerk. Unless the voter 10
affirmatively declines to update his or her signature in the records 11
of the county clerk: 12

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(a) It shall be deemed that the voter consented to update his or 1
her signature; and 2
(b) Any signature provided pursuant to NRS 293.269927 by the 3
registered voter to the county clerk becomes the voter’s signature 4
for purposes of his or her voter registration. 5
2. The Secretary of State may adopt any regulation s 6
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 7
Sec. 2. NRS 293.530 is hereby amended to read as follows: 8
293.530 1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 293.541: 9
(a) County clerks may use any reliable and reasonable means 10
available to correct the portions of the statewide voter registration 11
list which are relevant to the county clerks and to determine whether 12
a registered voter’s current residence is other than that indicated on 13
the voter’s application to register to vote. 14
(b) A county clerk may, with the consent of the board of county 15
commissioners, make investigations of registration in the county by 16
census, by house-to-house canvass or by any other method. 17
(c) A county clerk shall cancel the registration of a voter 18
pursuant to this subsection if: 19
(1) The county clerk mails a written notice to the voter which 20
the United States Postal Service is required to forward; 21
(2) The county clerk mails a return postcard with the notice 22
which has a place for the voter to write his or her new address, is 23
addressed to the county clerk and has postage guaranteed; 24
(3) The voter does not respond; 25
(4) The voter’s registration information has not been updated 26
by an automatic voter registration agency pursuant to NRS 293.5768 27
to 293.57699, inclusive; and 28
(5) The voter does not appear to vote in an election before 29
the polls have closed in the second general election following the 30
date of the notice. 31
(d) For the purposes of this subsection, the date of the notice is 32
deemed to be 3 days after it is mailed. 33
(e) The county clerk shall maintain records of: 34
(1) Any notice mailed pursuant to paragraph (c); 35
(2) Any response to such notice; and 36
(3) Whether a person to whom a notice is mailed appears to 37
vote in an election, 38
 for not less than 2 years after creation. 39
(f) The county clerk shall use any postcards which are returned 40
to correct the portions of the statewide voter registration list which 41
are relevant to the county clerk. 42
(g) If a voter fails to return the postcard mailed pursuant to 43
paragraph (c) within 30 days, the county clerk shall desig nate the 44
voter as inactive on the voter’s application to register to vote. 45

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(h) The Secretary of State shall adopt regulations to prescribe 1
the method for maintaining a list of voters who have been 2
designated as inactive pursuant to paragraph (g). 3
[(i) If: 4
(1) The name of a voter is added to the statewide voter 5
registration list pursuant to NRS 293.57693; or 6
(2) The voter registration information of a voter whose name 7
is on the statewide voter registration list is updated pursuant to 8
NRS 293.5752, 9
 the county clerk shall provide written notice of the addition or 10
change to the voter not later than 5 working days after the addition 11
or change is made. Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, 12
the notice must be mailed to the current residence of the voter. The 13
county clerk may send the notice by electronic mail if the voter 14
confirms the validity of the electronic mail address to which the 15
notice will be sent by responding to a confirmation inquiry sent to 16
that electronic mail address. Such a confi rmation inquiry must be 17
sent for each notice sent pursuant to this paragraph. The notice 18
required pursuant to this paragraph may be provided as part of the 19
notice mailed pursuant to NRS 293.57693.] 20
2. A county clerk is not required to take any action pursuant to 21
this section in relation to a person who preregisters to vote until the 22
person is deemed to be registered to vote pursuant to subsection 2 of 23
NRS 293.4855. 24
Sec. 3. NRS 293.57691 is hereby amended to read as follows: 25
293.57691 1. A county clerk shall not reject as an application 26
to register to vote the information received from an automatic voter 27
registration agency solely on the basis that the information does not 28
contain an electronic facsimile of the signatu re of the person who is 29
applying to vote or update his or her voter registration information 30
on the statewide voter registration list. 31
2. If the county clerk does not receive an electronic facsimile 32
of the signature of the person from the automatic voter registration 33
agency, the county clerk must obtain the person’s signature or an 34
electronic facsimile of the person’s signature through one of the 35
following methods: 36
(a) Through the notice provided by the [county clerk] Secretary 37
of State to the person pur suant to NRS 293.57693, if the notice is 38
returned to the county clerk by the person and the returned notice 39
includes the person’s signature; 40
(b) Requesting an electronic facsimile of the person’s signature 41
from the Department of Motor Vehicles or another state agency; 42
(c) Requesting the person to submit an electronic facsimile of 43
the person’s signature through a method approved by the Secretary 44
of State; or 45

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(d) Requesting the person to sign a paper or electronic form the 1
first time the person applies to vote in person at a polling place, 2
including, without limitation, a polling place for early voting by 3
personal appearance. A signature provided by a person pursuant to 4
this paragraph must be compared to one of the forms of 5
identification which may be used individually to identify a voter at 6
the polling place set forth in NRS 293.277 before the person is 7
allowed to vote in person. 8
3. In addition to the requirements of this section and NRS 9
293.2725, a person who is registered to vote pursuant to NRS 10
293.5768 to 293.57699, inclusive, must provide an affirmation 11
signed under penalty of perjury that the person is eligible to vote the 12
first time a person votes in person or by mail ballot if the person has 13
not already provided such an affirmation to the county clerk. 14
Sec. 4. NRS 293.57693 is hereby amended to read as follows: 15
293.57693 1. Upon transmission of the information to the 16
database created by the Secretary of State pursuant to NRS 293.675 17
by an automatic voter re gistration agency, the county clerk shall 18
collate the information into an individual electronic document, 19
which shall be deemed an application to register to vote. The county 20
clerk shall review the voter registration information transmitted by 21
the automati c voter registration agency to determine whether the 22
person is eligible to register to vote in this State. 23
2. If the county clerk determines that a person is eligible to 24
vote [, the] : 25
(a) The person shall be deemed a registered voter [.] ; 26
(b) The county clerk shall immediately notify the Secretary of 27
State that the person is eligible to vote; 28
(c) The person’s name must appear on the statewide voter 29
registration list and the appropriate roster ; and [the] 30
(d) The person must be provided all sample ballots and other 31
voter information provided to registered voters. 32
3. [In addition to the requirements of subsection 2, ] Upon 33
notification by the county clerk that a person is eligible to vote, the 34
Secretary of State shall immediately mail a notice to th e current 35
residence of the person. The notice must be in the form prescribed 36
by the Secretary of State and include, without limitation: 37
(a) A space for the person to indicate a political party affiliation; 38
(b) A space for the person to affirmatively decl ine to apply to 39
register to vote or have his or her voter registration updated, as 40
applicable; 41
(c) A preaddressed return envelope with the address of the 42
appropriate county clerk and postage prepaid; 43
(d) A statement setting forth the qualifications to vote in this 44
State as provided by NRS 293.485 and that if the person does not 45

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meet the qualifications to vote in this State, the person should return 1
the notice and affirmatively decline in writing to register to vote; 2
(e) A statement explaining that unle ss the person affirmatively 3
declines in writing to apply to register to vote or have his or her 4
voter registration information updated, as applicable, the person is 5
deemed to have consented to the transmission of information to the 6
database created by the Secretary of State pursuant to NRS 293.675 7
by the automatic voter registration agency for the purpose of 8
registering the person to vote or updating the voter registration 9
information on the statewide voter registration list; 10
(f) A statement explaining th at if the person affirmatively 11
declines in writing to apply to register to vote or to have his or her 12
voter registration information updated, as applicable, the county 13
clerk will remove the person from the statewide voter registration 14
list or revert the pe rson’s information on the statewide voter 15
registration list to the information that was on the statewide voter 16
registration list before the automatic voter registration agency 17
transmitted the information, and the person shall be deemed to not 18
have register ed to vote or updated his or her voter registration 19
information, as applicable; 20
(g) A statement setting forth the penalties for submitting a false 21
application to register to vote; and 22
(h) A statement that: 23
(1) Indicates a political party affiliation or indicates that the 24
person is not affiliated with a political party is voluntary; 25
(2) The person may indicate a political party affiliation on 26
the form provided by the [county clerk ] Secretary of State in the 27
notice; and 28
(3) The person will not be able to vote at a primary election, 29
presidential preference primary election or primary city election for 30
candidates for partisan offices of a major political party unless the 31
person updates his or her voter registration information to indicate a 32
major political party affiliation. 33
4. The [county clerk] Secretary of State may send the notice 34
required pursuant to subsection 3 by electronic mail if the person 35
confirms the validity of the electronic mail address to which the 36
notice will be sent by responding a confirmation inquiry sent to that 37
electronic mail address. 38
5. The failure or refusal of the person to acknowledge that he 39
or she has received the notice required by subsection 3 is not a 40
declination by the person to apply to register to vote or have his or 41
her voter registration information updated. 42
6. If the county clerk determines that a person is not eligible to 43
register to vote or if the voter affirmatively declines in writing to be 44

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registered to vote or have his or her automatic voter registration 1
updated: 2
(a) It shall be deemed that the transmittal from the aut omatic 3
voter registration agency is not a completed voter registration 4
application; 5
(b) It shall be deemed that the person did not apply to register to 6
vote; 7
(c) It shall be deemed that the transmission of the person’s 8
information by the automatic voter registration system was an 9
official authorized act; 10
(d) It shall be deemed that the person did not falsely claim 11
citizenship in order to register to vote unless the person 12
affirmatively claimed to be a citizen to the automatic voter 13
registration agency; and 14
(e) The county clerk must remove the person’s registration from 15
the database created by the Secretary of State pursuant to NRS 16
293.675 or revert the person’s information on the database to the 17
information that was on the database before the automatic v oter 18
registration agency transmitted the information to the county clerk, 19
as applicable. 20
Sec. 5. Chapter 293C of NRS is hereby amended by adding 21
thereto a new section to read as follows: 22
1. If a registered voter is contacted by a city clerk pursuant to 23
NRS 293C.26327 because there is a reasonable question of fact as 24
to whether the signature used for the mail ballot matches the 25
signature of the registered voter that is available in the records of 26
the city clerk, the city clerk shall, in addition to the requirements 27
set forth in NRS 293C. 26327, affirmatively ask whether the 28
registered voter would like to update his or her signature in the 29
records of the city clerk. Unless the voter affirmatively declines to 30
update his or her signature in the records of the city clerk: 31
(a) It shall be deemed that the voter consented to update his or 32
her signature; and 33
(b) Any signature provided pursuant to NRS 293C. 26327 by 34
the registered voter to the city clerk becomes the voter’s signatur e 35
for purposes of his or her voter registration. 36
2. The Secretary of State may adopt any regulation s 37
necessary to carry out the provisions of this section. 38
Sec. 6. The provisions of NRS 354.599 do not apply to any 39
additional expenses of a local government that are related to the 40
provisions of this act. 41
Sec. 7. 1. This section and section 6 of this act become 42
effective upon passage and approval. 43
2. Sections 1 to 5, inclusive, of this act become effective: 44

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(a) Upon passage and approval for the purpose of adopting any 1
regulations and performing any other preparatory administrative 2
tasks that are necessary to carry out the provisions of this act; and 3
(b) On January 1, 2026, for all other purposes. 4

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