EXPLANATION – Matter in bolded italics is new; matter between brackets [omitted material] is material to be omitted. Green numbers along left margin indicate location on the printed bill (e.g., 5-15 indicates page 5, line 15).

1-1 Section 1. Chapter 293 of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto

1-2 the provisions set forth as sections 2 and 3 of this act.

1-3 Sec. 2. The secretary of state, a board of county commissioners, a

1-4 county clerk and any other person who prepares an abstract of votes or

1-5 other report of votes pursuant to this chapter shall not include in that

1-6 abstract or report a person designated as an inactive voter pursuant to

1-7 subsection 7 of NRS 293.530 when determining the percentage of voters

1-8 who have voted or the total number of voters.

1-9 Sec. 3. 1. A person who files a written challenge pursuant to NRS

1-10 293.547 or an affidavit pursuant to NRS 293.535 may withdraw the

1-11 challenge or affidavit at any time by submitting a written request to the

1-12 county clerk. Upon receipt of the request, the county clerk shall:

2-1 (a) Remove the challenge or affidavit from the registrar of voters’

2-2 register, any election board register and any other record in which the

2-3 challenge or affidavit has been filed or entered;

2-4 (b) If a notice of the challenge or affidavit has been mailed to the

2-5 person who is the subject of the challenge or affidavit, mail a notice and

2-6 a copy of the request to withdraw to that person; and

2-7 (c) If a notice of the challenge has been mailed to the district attorney,

2-8 mail a notice and a copy of the request to withdraw to the district

2-9 attorney.

2-10 2. If the county clerk receives a request to withdraw pursuant to

2-11 subsection 1, the county clerk shall withdraw the person’s challenge or

2-12 affidavit.

2-13 Sec. 4. NRS 293.1715 is hereby amended to read as follows:

2-14 293.1715 1. The [names of the candidates] name of a candidate of a

2-43 a statewide office; or

3-1 (2) Twenty-five signatures if the candidate is to be nominated for

3-2 any office except a statewide office;

3-3 (d) The party has filed the petition circulated pursuant to paragraph

3-4 (c) with the secretary of state not later than 5 p.m. on the third Monday

3-5 in May; and

3-6 (e) The petition filed pursuant to paragraph (d) meets the

3-7 requirements set forth in NRS 293.172.

3-8 3. The name of a candidate of a minor political party for the office of

3-9 President or Vice President of the United States must appear on the

3-10 ballot for the general election if:

3-11 (a) The party has filed a certificate of existence pursuant to NRS

3-12 293.171;

3-13 (b) The name of the candidate appears on the certificate of

3-14 nomination filed by the party pursuant to the provisions of subsection 4

3-15 of NRS 293.1725 with the secretary of state;

3-16 (c) The party has held one or more conventions not earlier than the

3-17 first Saturday in April preceding the election and not later than the

3-18 second Saturday in July, at which the party obtained on a petition on

3-19 behalf of the candidate not less than 200 signatures;

3-20 (d) The party has filed the petition circulated pursuant to paragraph

3-21 (c) with the secretary of state not later than 5 p.m. on the second Friday

3-22 in August; and

3-23 (e) The petition filed pursuant to paragraph (d) meets the

3-24 requirements set forth in NRS 293.172.

3-25 4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 2, the name of a

3-26 candidate of a minor political party must not appear on the ballot of the

3-27 general election unless the candidate files his declaration of candidacy

3-28 and pays the filing fee in accordance with subsection 3 of NRS 293.1725.

3-29 5. The name of only one candidate of each minor political party for

3-30 each office may appear on the ballot for a general election.

3-31 [4.] 6. A minor political party must file [a] with the secretary of state

3-32 an unsigned copy of [the] each petition required by [paragraph (c) of

3-33 subsection 2 with the secretary of state] :

3-34 (a) Subsection 2 before the petition may be circulated for signatures [.]

3-35 at the convention held pursuant to subsection 2.

3-36 (b) Subsection 3 before the petition may be circulated for signatures at

3-37 the convention held pursuant to subsection 3.

3-38 7. As used in this section, "convention" means an assemblage of not

3-39 less than 25 registered voters.

3-40 Sec. 5. NRS 293.172 is hereby amended to read as follows:

3-41 293.172 1. A petition filed pursuant to [paragraph (c) of] subsection

3-43 document of the petition must:

4-1 (a) Bear the name of the [county in which it was circulated;] minor

4-2 political party, candidate and office to which the candidate is to be

4-3 nominated.

4-4 (b) Include the affidavit of the person who circulated the document

4-5 verifying that the signers are registered voters in the state according to his

4-6 best information and belief and that the signatures are genuine and were

4-7 signed in his presence . [; and

4-8 (c) Be submitted to]

4-9 (c) Bear the name of a county and be verified by the county clerk [in

4-10 the county in which it is circulated for verification] of that county in the

4-11 manner prescribed in NRS 293.1276 to 293.1279, inclusive, [not later than

4-12 40 days before the third Tuesday in August.] before the petition is filed

4-13 with the secretary of state pursuant to subsection 2 or 3 of NRS 293.1715.

4-14 A challenge to the form of a [petition filed pursuant to paragraph (c) of

4-15 subsection 2 of NRS 293.1715] document must be made in a district court

4-16 in the county [in which the petition was circulated.

4-17 2. A document which bears the name of a county may be] that is

4-18 named on the document.

4-19 (d) Be signed only by registered voters of [that county.] the county that

4-20 is named on the document.

4-21 2. If the office to which the candidate is to be nominated is a county

4-22 office, only the registered voters of that county may sign the petition. If

4-23 the office to which the candidate is to be nominated is a district office,

4-24 only the registered voters of that district may sign the petition.

4-25 3. Each person who signs a [document] petition shall also provide the

4-26 address of the place where he resides, the date that he signs and the name

4-27 of the county in which he is registered to vote.

4-28 4. The county clerk shall not disqualify the signature of a voter who

4-29 failed to provide all of the information required by [this section]

4-30 subsection 3 if the voter is registered in the county that is named on the

4-31 document.

4-32 Sec. 6. NRS 293.1725 is hereby amended to read as follows:

4-33 293.1725 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 4, a minor

4-43 than 5 p.m. on the [last Friday in June.] third Monday in May. The list

5-1 must be signed by the person so authorized in the certificate of existence of

5-2 the minor political party before a notary public or other person authorized

5-3 to take acknowledgments. The secretary of state shall not accept the list

5-4 unless each candidate on the list is entitled to appear on the ballot

5-5 pursuant to subsection 2 of NRS 293.1715. The list must not be amended

5-6 after it is filed [.] and accepted by the secretary of state.

5-7 2. The secretary of state shall immediately forward a certified copy of

5-8 the filed and accepted list of candidates of each minor political party to the

5-9 filing officer with whom each candidate must file his declaration of

5-10 candidacy.

5-11 3. Each candidate on the list must file his declaration of candidacy

5-12 with the proper filing officer and pay the fee required by NRS 293.193 not

5-13 earlier than the date on which the list of candidates of his minor political

5-14 party is filed with the secretary of state nor later than 5 p.m. on the [first

5-15 Wednesday in July.] third Monday in May.

5-16 4. A minor political party that wishes to place candidates for the

5-17 offices of President and Vice President of the United States [on the ballot

5-18 and has otherwise qualified to place the names of its candidates] on the

5-19 ballot for the general election [pursuant to the provisions of this chapter]

5-20 must file with the secretary of state a certificate of nomination for these

5-21 offices not later than 5 p.m. on the [first Tuesday in September.] second

5-22 Friday in August. The secretary of state shall not accept the certificate of

5-23 nomination unless each candidate who appears on the certificate is

5-24 entitled to appear on the ballot pursuant to subsection 3 of NRS

5-25 293.1715.

5-26 Sec. 7. NRS 293.174 is hereby amended to read as follows:

5-27 293.174 1. If the qualification of a minor political party or a

5-43 later than 5 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday in August. Any judicial

6-1 proceeding resulting from the challenge must be set for hearing not more

6-2 than 5 days after the fourth Tuesday in August. A challenge pursuant to

6-3 this subsection must be filed with the first judicial district court . [if the

6-4 petition was filed with the secretary of state.]

6-5 Sec. 8. NRS 293.175 is hereby amended to read as follows:

6-6 293.175 1. The primary election must be held on the first Tuesday of

6-19 provided for by statute.

6-20 Sec. 9. NRS 293.176 is hereby amended to read as follows:

6-21 293.176 1. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 2, no person

6-33 election.

6-34 Sec. 10. NRS 293.194 is hereby amended to read as follows:

6-35 293.194 The filing fee of an independent candidate who files a petition

6-41 contain the required number of signatures.

6-42 Sec. 11. NRS 293.200 is hereby amended to read as follows:

7-1 293.200 1. An independent candidate for partisan office must file

7-2 with the proper filing officer:

7-3 (a) A copy of the petition of candidacy that he intends to circulate for

7-4 signatures. The copy must be filed before the petition may be circulated.

7-5 (b) A petition of candidacy signed by a number of registered voters

7-6 equal to at least [1 percent of the total number of ballots cast in the state or

7-7 in the county or district electing that officer at the last preceding general

7-8 election in which a person was elected to that office.] :

7-9 (1) Two hundred signatures if the candidate is a candidate for a

7-10 statewide office; or

7-11 (2) Twenty-five signatures if the candidate is a candidate for any

7-12 office except a statewide office.

7-13 2. The petition may consist of more than one document. Each

7-14 document must bear the name of the county in which it was circulated and

7-15 only registered voters of that county may sign the document. The person

7-16 who circulates the document must be a registered voter of that county. If

7-17 the office is a district office, only the registered voters of that district may

7-18 sign the document. The documents [which] that are circulated for signature

7-19 in a county must be [submitted to] verified by that county clerk [for

7-20 verification] in the manner prescribed in NRS 293.1276 to 293.1279,

7-21 inclusive, [not later than 40 days before filing the petition of candidacy

7-22 with the proper filing officer.] before the petition is filed pursuant to

7-23 subsection 4. Each signer shall add to his signature the address of the place

7-24 at which he actually resides, the date that he signs the petition and the

7-25 name of the county where he is registered to vote for the purpose of

7-26 determining whether he is a registered voter. The person who circulates

7-27 each document of the petition shall sign an affidavit attesting that the

7-28 signatures on the document are genuine to the best of his knowledge and

7-29 belief and were signed in his presence by persons registered to vote in that

7-30 county.

7-31 3. The petition of candidacy may state the principle, if any, which the

7-32 person qualified represents.

7-33 4. Petitions of candidacy must be filed not earlier than the [first

7-34 Monday in May] second Saturday in April preceding the general election

7-35 and not later than 5 p.m. on the third [Tuesday in August.] Monday in

7-36 May.

7-37 5. No petition of candidacy may contain the name of more than one

7-38 candidate for each office to be filled.

7-39 6. A person may not file as an independent candidate if he is

7-40 proposing to run as the candidate of a political party.

7-41 7. The names of independent candidates must be placed on the general

7-42 election ballot and must not appear on the primary election ballot.

8-1 8. If the candidacy of any person seeking to qualify pursuant to this

8-2 section is challenged, all affidavits and documents in support of the

8-3 challenge must be filed not later than 5 p.m. on the fourth [Tuesday in

8-4 August.] Monday in May. Any judicial proceeding resulting from the

8-5 challenge must be set for hearing not more than 5 days after the fourth

8-6 [Tuesday in August.] Monday in May.

8-7 9. Any challenge pursuant to subsection 8 must be filed with:

8-8 (a) The first judicial district court if the petition of candidacy was filed

8-9 with the secretary of state.

8-10 (b) The district court for the county where the petition of candidacy was

8-11 filed if the petition was filed with a county clerk.

8-12 10. An independent candidate for partisan office must file a

8-13 declaration of candidacy with the proper filing officer and pay the fee

8-14 required by NRS 293.193 not earlier than the first Monday in May of the

8-15 year in which the election is held nor later than 5 p.m. [of the first

8-16 Wednesday in July.] on the third Monday in May.

8-17 Sec. 12. NRS 293.207 is hereby amended to read as follows:

8-18 293.207 1. Election precincts must be established on the basis of the

8-19 number of registered voters therein, with a maximum of 600 registered

8-20 voters per precinct in those precincts in which paper ballots are used, or a

8-21 maximum of 1,500 registered voters who are not designated inactive

8-22 pursuant to NRS 293.530 per precinct in those precincts in which a

8-23 mechanical voting system is used.

8-24 2. [The] Except as otherwise provided in subsections 3 and 4, the

8-25 county clerk may consolidate two or more contiguous election precincts

8-26 into a single voting district to conduct a particular election as public

8-27 convenience, necessity and economy may require.

8-28 3. If a county clerk proposes to consolidate two or more contiguous

8-29 election precincts, in whole or in part, pursuant to subsection 2, the

8-30 county clerk shall, at least 14 days before consolidating the precincts,

8-31 cause notice of the proposed consolidation to be:

8-32 (a) Posted in the manner prescribed for a regular meeting of the

8-33 board of county commissioners; and

8-34 (b) Mailed to each assemblyman, state senator and public officer of a

8-35 local government who represents residents of a precinct affected by the

8-36 consolidation.

8-37 4. A person may file a written objection to the proposed

8-38 consolidation with the county clerk. The county clerk shall consider each

8-39 written objection filed pursuant to this subsection before consolidating

8-40 the precincts.

8-41 Sec. 13. NRS 293.213 is hereby amended to read as follows:

8-42 293.213 1. Whenever there were not more than 20 voters registered

8-43 in a precinct for the last preceding general election, the county clerk may

9-1 establish [such] that precinct as a mailing precinct, and shall forthwith mail

9-2 notification to the field registrar for [such] that precinct.

9-3 2. Except as otherwise provided [by] in NRS 293.208, the county

9-4 clerk in any county where an absent ballot central counting board is

9-5 appointed may abolish two or more existing mailing precincts and combine

9-6 those mailing precincts into absent ballot precincts . [and those] Those

9-7 mailing precincts must be designated absent ballot mailing precincts.

9-8 3. In any county where an absent ballot central counting board is

9-9 appointed, any established precinct which had less than 200 ballots cast at

9-10 the last preceding general election, or any newly established precinct with

9-11 less than 200 registered voters, may be designated an absent ballot mailing

9-12 precinct.

9-13 4. The county clerk shall, at least 14 days before establishing or

9-14 designating a precinct as a mailing precinct or absent ballot mailing

9-15 precinct or before abolishing a mailing precinct pursuant to this section,

9-16 cause notice of such action to be:

9-17 (a) Posted in the manner prescribed for a regular meeting of the

9-18 board of county commissioners; and

9-19 (b) Mailed to each assemblyman, state senator and public officer of a

9-20 local government who represents residents of a precinct affected by the

9-21 action.

9-22 Sec. 14. NRS 293.3568 is hereby amended to read as follows:

9-23 293.3568 1. The period for early voting by personal appearance

9-41 may establish.

9-42 Sec. 15. NRS 293.510 is hereby amended to read as follows:

10-1 293.510 1. In counties where computers are not used to register

10-2 voters, the county clerk shall:

10-3 (a) Segregate original applications to register to vote according to the

10-4 precinct in which the registered voters reside and arrange the applications

10-5 in each precinct or district in alphabetical order. The applications for each

10-6 precinct or district must be kept in a separate binder which is marked with

10-7 the number of the precinct or district. This binder constitutes the election

10-8 board register.

10-9 (b) Arrange the duplicate applications of registration in alphabetical

10-10 order for the entire county and keep them in binders or a suitable file

10-11 which constitutes the registrar of voters’ register.

10-12 2. In any county where a computer is used to register voters, the

10-13 county clerk shall:

10-14 (a) Arrange the original applications to register to vote in alphabetical

10-15 order for the entire county and keep them in binders or a suitable file

10-16 which constitutes the registrar of voters’ register.

10-17 (b) Segregate the applications to register to vote in a computer file

10-18 according to the precinct or district in which the registered voters reside,

10-19 and for each precinct or district have printed a computer listing which

10-20 contains the applications to register to vote in alphabetical order. These

10-21 listings of applications to register to vote must be placed in separate

10-22 binders which are marked with the number of the precinct or district. These

10-23 binders constitute the election board registers.

10-24 3. Upon the request of the secretary of state, the county clerk shall

10-25 provide the secretary of state access to the registrar of voters’ register and

10-26 the election board registers. The secretary of state shall not add to,

10-27 modify or remove information from the original copy of a register. To

10-28 satisfy the requirement of providing access to the registers, the county

10-29 clerk may provide to the secretary of state a copy of the registers in a

10-30 form that is convenient to the county clerk.

10-31 Sec. 16. NRS 293.518 is hereby amended to read as follows:

10-32 293.518 1. At the time an elector registers to vote he must indicate:

10-43 elector’s political party as indicated by the elector.

11-1 4. If an elector indicates an affiliation with a minor political party that

11-2 has not filed a certificate of existence with the secretary of state, the county

11-3 clerk or field registrar of voters shall:

11-4 (a) List the elector’s political party as the party indicated in the

11-5 application to register to vote.

11-6 (b) When compiling data related to voter registration for the county,

11-7 report the elector’s political party as "other party."

11-8 Sec. 17. NRS 293.547 is hereby amended to read as follows:

11-9 293.547 1. After the [30th day but not later than the 15th] 90th day

11-43 appropriate, cause proceedings to be instituted and prosecuted in a court

12-1 of competent jurisdiction without delay. The court shall give such

12-2 proceedings priority over other civil matters that are not expressly given

12-3 priority by law. Upon court order, the county clerk shall cancel the

12-4 registration of the person whose right to vote has been challenged

12-5 pursuant to this section.

12-6 Sec. 18. NRS 293B.190 is hereby amended to read as follows:

12-7 293B.190 When used in primary elections, the list of offices and

12-15 party.

12-16 Sec. 19. NRS 293B.305 is hereby amended to read as follows:

12-17 293B.305 Unless a major political party allows [a nonpartisan] an

12-39 instruct him to punch his ballot by reference to the sample ballot.

12-40 Sec. 20. NRS 293B.310 is hereby amended to read as follows:

12-41 293B.310 In a primary election, the county clerk may require those

12-43 comprise less than 5 percent of the registered voters for that precinct or

13-1 district to vote in the manner prescribed for [nonpartisan] independent

13-2 voters in NRS 293B.305.

14-1 Sec. 21. Chapter 293C of NRS is hereby amended by adding thereto a

14-8 of voters.

14-9 Sec. 22. NRS 293C.3568 is hereby amended to read as follows:

14-10 293C.3568 1. The period for early voting by personal appearance