2001 REGULAR SESSION (71st) A AB637 313
ASSEMBLY ACTION Initial and Date |SENATE ACTION Initial and Date
Adopted Lost | Adopted Lost
Concurred In Not |Concurred In Not
Receded Not | Receded Not
Amend section 1, page 1, line 2, by deleting:
“to 14, inclusive,” and inserting “and 3”.
Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sections 3 through 13, renumbering sections 14 through 16 as sections 3 through 5 and adding new sections designated sections 6 through 9, following sec. 16, to read as follows:
“Sec. 6. NRS 293.1277 is hereby amended to read as follows:
293.1277 1. If the secretary of state finds that the total number of signatures submitted to all the county clerks is 100 percent or more of the number of registered voters needed to declare the petition sufficient, he shall immediately so notify the county clerks. Within 9 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, after notification, each of the county clerks shall determine the number of registered voters who have signed the documents submitted in his county.
2. If more than 500 names have been signed on the documents submitted to him, a county clerk shall examine the signatures by sampling them at random for verification. The random sample of signatures to be verified must be drawn in such a manner that every signature which has been submitted to the county clerk is given an equal opportunity to be included in the sample. The sample must include an examination of at least 500 or 5 percent of the signatures, whichever is greater.
3. In determining from the records of registration the number of registered voters who signed the documents, the county clerk may use the signatures contained in the file of applications to register to vote. If the county clerk uses that file, he shall ensure that every application in the file is examined, including any application in his possession which may not yet be entered into his records. The county clerk shall rely only on the appearance of the signature and the address and date included with each signature in making his determination.
4. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 6, upon completing the examination, the county clerk shall immediately attach to the documents a certificate properly dated, showing the result of his examination and transmit the documents with the certificate to the secretary of state. A copy of this certificate must be filed in the clerk’s office. When the county clerk transmits the certificate to the secretary of state, the county clerk shall notify the secretary of state of the number of requests to remove a name received by the county clerk pursuant to NRS 295.055 or 306.015.
5. A person who submits a petition to the county clerk which is required to be verified pursuant to NRS 293.128, 293.165, 293.172, 293.200, 295.056, 298.109, 306.035 or 306.110 must be allowed to witness the verification of the signatures. A public officer who is the subject of a recall petition must also be allowed to witness the verification of the signatures on the petition.
6. For any petition containing signatures which are required to be verified pursuant to the provisions of NRS 293.165, 293.200, 306.035 or 306.110 for any county, district or municipal office within one county, the county clerk shall not transmit to the secretary of state the documents containing the signatures of the registered voters.
7. The secretary of state may by regulation establish further procedures for carrying out the provisions of this section.
Sec. 7. NRS 293.1278 is hereby amended to read as follows:
293.1278 1. If the certificates received by the secretary of state from all the county clerks establish that the number of valid signatures is less than 90 percent of the required number of registered voters, the petition shall be deemed to have failed to qualify, and the secretary of state shall immediately so notify the petitioners and the county clerks.
2. If those certificates establish that the [petitioners have] number of valid signatures is equal to or more than the sum of 100 percent of the number of registered voters needed to make the petition sufficient [,] plus the total number of requests to remove a name received by the county clerks pursuant to NRS 295.055 or 306.015, the petition shall be deemed to qualify as of the date of receipt by the secretary of state of those certificates , [showing the petition to have reached 100 percent,] and the secretary of state shall immediately so notify the petitioners and the county clerks.
3. If the certificates establish that the petitioners have 100 percent or more of the number of registered voters needed to make the petition sufficient but the petition fails to qualify pursuant to subsection 2, each county clerk who received a request to remove a name pursuant to NRS 295.055 or 306.015 shall remove each name as requested, amend the certificate, and transmit the amended certificate to the secretary of state. If the amended certificates establish that the petitioners have 100 percent or more of the number of registered voters needed to make the petition sufficient, the petition shall be deemed to qualify as of the date of receipt by the secretary of state of the amended certificates, and the secretary of state shall immediately so notify the petitioners and the county clerks.
Sec. 8. NRS 293.1279 is hereby amended to read as follows:
293.1279 1. If the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid signatures filed is 90 percent or more , but less than the sum of 100 percent of the number of signatures of registered voters needed to declare the petition sufficient [,] plus the total number of requests to remove a name received by the county clerks pursuant to NRS 295.055 or 306.015, the secretary of state shall order the county clerks to examine the signatures for verification. The county clerks shall examine the signatures for verification until they determine that 100 percent of the number of signatures of registered voters needed to declare the petition sufficient are valid. If the county clerks received a request to remove a name pursuant to NRS 295.055 or 306.015, the county clerks may not determine that 100 percent of the number of signatures of registered voters needed to declare the petition sufficient are valid until they have removed each name as requested pursuant to NRS 295.055 or 306.015.
2. If the statistical sampling shows that the number of valid signatures filed in any county is 90 percent or more but less than the sum of 100 percent of the number of signatures of registered voters needed to constitute 10 percent of the number of voters who voted at the last preceding general election in that county [,] plus the total number of requests to remove a name received by the county clerk in that county pursuant to NRS 295.055 or 306.015, the secretary of state may order the county clerk in that county to examine every signature for verification. If the county clerk received a request to remove a name pursuant to NRS 295.055 or 306.015, the county clerk may not determine that 100 percent or more of the number of signatures of registered voters needed to constitute 10 percent of the number of voters who voted at the last preceding general election in that county are valid until he has removed each name as requested pursuant to NRS 295.055 or 306.015.
3. Within 12 days, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays, after receipt of such an order, the clerk shall determine from the records of registration what number of registered voters have signed the petition. If necessary, the board of county commissioners shall allow the county clerk additional assistants for examining the signatures and provide for their compensation. In determining from the records of registration what number of registered voters have signed the petition, the clerk may use any file or list of registered voters maintained by his office or facsimiles of voters’ signatures. The county clerk may rely on the appearance of the signature and the address and date included with each signature in determining the number of registered voters that signed the petition.
4. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, upon completing the examination, the county clerk shall immediately attach to the documents of the petition an amended certificate properly dated, showing the result of the examination and shall immediately forward the documents with the amended certificate to the secretary of state. A copy of the amended certificate must be filed in the county clerk’s office.
5. For any petition containing signatures which are required to be verified pursuant to the provisions of NRS 293.165, 293.200, 306.035 or 306.110 for any county, district or municipal office within one county, the county clerk shall not forward to the secretary of state the documents containing the signatures of the registered voters.
6. Except for a petition to recall a county, district or municipal officer, the petition shall be deemed filed with the secretary of state as of the date on which he receives certificates from the county clerks showing the petition to be signed by the requisite number of voters of the state.
7. If the amended certificates received from all county clerks by the secretary of state establish that the petition is still insufficient, he shall immediately so notify the petitioners and the county clerks. If the petition is a petition to recall a county, district or municipal officer, the secretary of state shall also notify the officer with whom the petition is to be filed.
Sec. 9. NRS 293.12795 is hereby amended to read as follows:
293.12795 1. If an appeal is based upon the results of the verification of signatures on a petition performed pursuant to NRS 293.1277 or 293.1279, the secretary of state shall:
(a) If he finds for the appellant, order the county clerk to recertify the petition, including as verified signatures all contested signatures which the secretary of state determines are valid. If the county clerk has not yet removed each name as requested pursuant to NRS 295.055 or 306.015, the county clerk shall do so before recertifying the petition.
(b) If he does not find for the appellant, notify the appellant and the county clerk that the petition remains insufficient.
2. If the secretary of state is unable to make a decision on the appeal based upon the documents submitted to him, the secretary of state may order the county clerk to reverify the signatures.
3. The decision of the secretary of state is a final decision for the purposes of judicial review. The decision of the secretary of state may only be appealed in the first judicial district court.”.
Amend the bill as a whole by renumbering sections 17 through 20 as sections 10 through 13.
Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sec. 21 and renumbering sections 22 through 35 as sections 14 through 27.
Amend sec. 23, page 8, line 44, by deleting “[mail] distribute” and inserting “mail”.
Amend sec. 25, page 9, line 31, by deleting “10th” and inserting “seventh”.
Amend sec. 27, page 10, line 20, after “place,” by inserting:
“including, without limitation, a polling place for early voting,”.
Amend sec. 27, page 10, line 25, by deleting “place” and inserting:
“place, including, without limitation, a polling place for early voting,”.
Amend sec. 30, page 12, line 4, by deleting “[must] may” and inserting “must”.
Amend sec. 30, page 12, line 5, by deleting:
“marked as the” and inserting:
“[marked as the] or”.
Amend sec. 30, page 12, line 19, by deleting “14” and inserting “3”.
Amend sec. 31, pages 12 and 13, by deleting line 48 on page 12 and lines 1 through 5 on page 13 and inserting:
“(a) Arrange the original applications to register to vote [in alphabetical order] for the entire county [and keep them in binders or a suitable file which constitutes] in a manner in which an original application may be quickly located. These original applications constitute the registrar of voters’ register.”.
Amend sec. 31, page 13, line 6, by deleting “[(b)] (c)” and inserting “(b)”.
Amend sec. 32, page 14, line 18, after “vote.” by inserting:
“Please retain the duplicate copy or receipt from your application to register to vote.”.
Amend sec. 33, page 15, by deleting lines 15 and 16 and inserting:
“application. Each application must include a duplicate copy [marked as the]or receipt to be retained by the applicant upon completion of the form.”.
Amend sec. 35, page 17, by deleting line 9 and inserting “place.”.
Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sections 36 through 47 and renumbering sec. 48 as sec. 28.
Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sec. 49 and renumbering sections 50 through 83 as sections 29 through 62.
Amend sec. 51, page 22, line 32, by deleting “[mail] distribute” and inserting “mail”.
Amend sec. 53, page 23, line 19, by deleting “10th” and inserting “seventh”.
Amend sec. 55, page 24, line 8, after “place,” by inserting:
“including, without limitation, a polling place for early voting,”.
Amend sec. 55, page 24, line 13, by deleting “place” and inserting:
“place, including, without limitation, a polling place for early voting,”.
Amend sec. 58, page 25, by deleting line 38 and inserting “place.”.
Amend sec. 60, page 26, line 13, by deleting:
“61 to 65,” and inserting:
“40 to 44,”.
Amend sec. 61, page 26, line 22, by deleting “62” and inserting “41”.
Amend sec. 61, page 26, line 27, by deleting “62” and inserting “41”.
Amend sec. 63, page 27, line 29, by deleting:
“61 or 62” and inserting:
“40 or 41”.
Amend sec. 64, page 27, line 47, by deleting:
“61 to 65,” and inserting:
“40 to 44,”.
Amend sec. 64, page 28, line 2, by deleting “63” and inserting “42”.
Amend sec. 66, page 28, by deleting lines 18 through 20 and inserting:
“3. A person who signs a petition may request that the county clerk remove his name from it by transmitting his request in writing to the county clerk at any time before the petition is filed with the county clerk.”.
Amend sec. 67, page 28, line 36, by deleting:
“61 to 65,” and inserting:
“40 to 44,”.
Amend sec. 67, page 28, line 40, by deleting “twenty-five” and inserting “thirty”.
Amend sec. 68, page 29, by deleting lines 28 through 41 and inserting:
“petition. A petition certified insufficient for lack of the required number of valid signatures may be amended once if the petitioners’ committee files a notice of intention to amend it with the county clerk within 2 days after receiving the copy of his certificate and files a supplementary petition upon additional papers within 10 days after receiving the copy of the certificate. A supplementary petition must comply with the requirements of subsections 5 and 6 of NRS 295.095, and within 5 days after it is filed the county clerk shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition as amended and promptly send a copy of the certificate to the petitioners’ committee by registered or certified mail.
3.] 2. If a petition [or amended petition] is certified sufficient, or if a”.
Amend sec. 68, page 29, line 42, by deleting:
“or amended petition” and inserting:
“[or amended petition]”.
Amend sec. 68, page 29, line 43, by deleting “amend or” and inserting “[amend or]”.
Amend sec. 68, page 29, line 44, by deleting “4” and inserting “[4]3”.
Amend sec. 68, page 29, by deleting lines 47 and 48 and inserting:
“[4.] 3. If a [petition has been certified insufficient and the petitioners’ committee does not file notice of intention to amend it or if an amended]”.
Amend sec. 68, page 30, line 6, by deleting “5.” and inserting “[5.]4.”.
Amend sec. 70, page 30, line 44, by deleting:
“61 to 65,” and inserting:
“40 to 44,”.
Amend sec. 72, page 32, line 13, by deleting:
“61 to 65,” and inserting:
“40 to 44,”.
Amend sec. 72, page 32, line 17, by deleting “twenty-five” and inserting “thirty”.
Amend sec. 73, page 33, by deleting lines 13 through 26 and inserting:
“petition. A petition certified insufficient for lack of the required number of valid signatures may be amended once if the petitioners’ committee files a notice of intention to amend it with the city clerk within 2 days after receiving the copy of his certificate and files a supplementary petition upon additional papers within 10 days after receiving the copy of the certificate. A supplementary petition must comply with the requirements of subsections 5 and 6 of NRS 295.205, and within 5 days after it is filed the city clerk shall complete a certificate as to the sufficiency of the petition as amended and promptly send a copy of the certificate to the petitioners’ committee by registered or certified mail.
4.] 2. If a petition [or amended petition] is certified sufficient, or if a”.
Amend sec. 73, page 33, line 27, by deleting:
“or amended petition” and inserting:
“[or amended petition]”.
Amend sec. 73, page 33, line 28, by deleting “amend or” and inserting “[amend or]”.
Amend sec. 73, page 33, line 29, by deleting “4” and inserting “3”.
Amend sec. 73, page 33, by deleting lines 32 and 33 and inserting:
“[5.] 3. If a [petition has been certified insufficient and the petitioners’ committee does not file notice of intention to amend it or if an amended]”.
Amend sec. 73, page 33, line 40, by deleting “5.” and inserting “4.”.
Amend sec. 75, page 34, by deleting lines 39 through 42 and inserting:
“5. Any person who signs a petition to recall any public officer may request that the county clerk remove his name from the petition by submitting a request in writing to the county clerk at any time before the petition is submitted for the verification of the signatures thereon pursuant to NRS 306.035.”.
Amend sec. 76, page 35, by deleting lines 7 through 12 and inserting:
“2. After the verification of signatures is complete, but not later than the date a complaint is filed pursuant to subsection 5 or the date the call for a special election is issued, whichever is earlier, a person who signs a petition to recall may request the secretary of state to strike his name from the petition. If the person demonstrates good cause therefor [,] and the number of such requests received by the secretary of state could affect the sufficiency of the petition, the secretary of state shall strike [his] the name of the person from the petition.”.
Amend the bill as a whole by deleting sections 84 and 85 and renumbering sections 86 through 90 as sections 63 through 67.
Amend the title of the bill to read as follows:
“AN ACT relating to elections; providing for a person without a street address to register to vote; providing that signatures must be removed from certain petitions, upon request, only if the removal of such signatures could affect the sufficiency of the petitions; clarifying who may sign a petition to fill a vacancy in a nomination for a nonpartisan office; allowing certain persons who change designations of political party affiliation to be independent or minor party candidates for partisan office; revising the requirements concerning certain requests for absent ballots and voting by persons who request absent ballots; revising the requirements for handling and maintaining election materials after an election; revising the requirements concerning the form, contents and filing of certain applications to register to vote; prohibiting the public disclosure of certain information concerning voters; providing for the verification of signatures on county and municipal petitions; revising the deadlines for submitting certain county and municipal petitions and removing the option of submitting supplements to such petitions; requiring notice to be given upon an appointment to fill a vacancy in an elected office; repealing the requirement that checklists of voters be created for elections; repealing the restriction on the length of time a voter may remain in a voting booth; and providing other matters properly relating thereto.”.