Election Day Special: Know Your Voting Rights

Need to find your polling place in Clark County? Just click here. Voting is open until 7 p.m. 

 

Happy Election Day! Good news! We have moved into the state-administered calendar of the election season. Why is this good? Because when the state administers an election (as opposed to a political party), you have rights as a Nevada citizen to ensure the election is administered fairly.

More good news! As I’m sure you have heard how new voter-ID laws across the country are disenfranchising people (who could forget Sen. Burr having to vote with a provisional ballot?). Well, we don’t have one! In fact, the next time someone brings that silly topic up, refer them to NRS¹⁾which stands for Nevada Revised Statute 293.775 that states that anyone “who votes or attempts to vote knowing that he or she is not a qualified elector is guilty of a category D felony.”²⁾Cite

Yes, voter fraud is already a crime. Let’s move on talk to about stuff that’s really important…like bathrooms³⁾kidding!.

Know Your Election Rights by Statute

It’s one thing to know that it’s “the law” that you do not have to provide state-ID to vote (for example), but what fun is that?

It’s much more fun to vote knowing the precise statute that empowers you!

Let’s start with election day observation:

NRS 293.274  Members of general public allowed to observe conduct of voting at polling place; photographing or otherwise recording conduct of voting by members of general public prohibited.

      1.  The county clerk shall allow members of the general public to observe the conduct of voting at a polling place.

      2.  A member of the general public shall not photograph the conduct of voting at a polling place or record the conduct of voting on audiotape or any other means of sound or video reproduction.

      3.  For the purposes of this section, a member of the general public does not include any person who:

      (a) Gathers information for communication to the public;

      (b) Is employed or engaged by or has contracted with a newspaper, periodical, press association, or radio or television station; and

      (c) Is acting solely within his or her professional capacity.

      (Added to NRS by 1995, 2772; A 1999, 264) (emphasis added)

There was some confusion online if people are allowed to take pictures of their ballots and post them (I am not going to reproduce a potential crime here). There’s been a national rise in demand for folks to film themselves casting a ballot out of fear of voter fraud, but you do not need to worry about that here. In Nevada, you can see a print out of your voter preferences before you leave the booth. I can verify this firsthand.

My point being, you don’t need to film yourself voting. Also, it’s illegal.⁴⁾Yes, Jon’s right. Doesn’t excuse that tone of his though.

One last point regarding NRS 293.274 in reference to the general public being permitted to “observe.” That means you can stand near the poll location and watch people vote. “Observe” has a different meaning than “talk to,” “intimidate,” “question” or any other action that involves you interacting with voters.⁵⁾Small aside. In 2008 i worked for the “Election Protection” team in Las Vegas where we went to the polls to make sure voters weren’t being made uncomfortable. At the North Las Vegas polling place I visited, there was in fact a man there in a white button down shirt, bright red tie, with a steno pad, looking at each voter’s face and making a note on his pad. I just went and stood next to him..he left 10 minutes later. Guess he had all the notes he needed. Leave them voters be!

You Do Not Need State-Issued ID to Vote

NRS 293.277 and NRS 293.285 states what is required of you to vote:

NRS 293.277  Conditions for entitlement of person to vote; forms of identification to identify registered voter.

      1.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 293.283 and 293.541, if a person’s name appears in the roster or if the person provides an affirmation pursuant to NRS 293.525, the person is entitled to vote and must sign his or her name in the roster when he or she applies to vote. The signature must be compared by an election board officer with the signature or a facsimile thereof on the person’s application to register to vote or one of the forms of identification listed in subsection 2.

      2.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 293.2725, the forms of identification which may be used individually to identify a voter at the polling place are:

      (a) The card issued to the voter at the time he or she registered to vote;

      (b) A driver’s license;

      (c) An identification card issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles;

      (d) A military identification card; or

      (e) Any other form of identification issued by a governmental agency which contains the voter’s signature and physical description or picture.

      (Added to NRS by 1960, 252; A 1985, 559; 1991, 2219; 1993, 2181; 1995, 2263; 2001, 2595; 2003, 2176; 2015, 3151) (emphasis added)

NRS 293.285  Procedure for taking registered voter’s signature.

      1.  Except as otherwise provided in NRS 293.283, a registered voter applying to vote shall state his or her name to the election board officer in charge of the roster, and the officer shall immediately announce the name, instruct the voter to sign the roster and verify the signature of the voter in the manner set forth in NRS 293.277.

      2.  If the signature does not match, the voter must be identified by:

      (a) Answering questions from the election board officer covering the personal data which is reported on the application to register to vote;

      (b) Providing the election board officer, orally or in writing, with other personal data which verifies the identity of the voter; or

      (c) Providing the election board officer with proof of identification as described in NRS 293.277 other than the card issued to the voter at the time he or she registered to vote.

      3.  If the signature of the voter has changed in comparison to the signature on the application to register to vote, the voter must update his or her signature on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State.

      (Added to NRS by 1960, 253; A 1971, 442, 1486; 1987, 692; 2007, 2588; 2015, 3152)

If you are looking to remember one election statute, NRS 293.277 is the one you are looking for. As you can see above in the bolded section, if your name is on the voter rolls, with a signature and an affirmation⁶⁾legally binding statement, you get to vote.

I was going to add “no questions asked” but that could be literally untrue. Take a look at NRS 293.285. If your signature doesn’t match with the one on file, the election official present will likely ask you a few questions. This is okay!

The procedure for how the election officials ask and take your signature is specifically prescribed by statute. If the above procedure is not followed at your polling place, please inform that Clark County Election Department at (702) 466-8683.

Just in case, here is the language from the Clark County Election website regarding voter identification:

You will give your name to a Clerk at the precinct table. The Clerk will find your name in the Precinct Register and ask you to sign next to your facsimile signature. The Clerk will then verify your identity by comparing your handwritten signature to your facsimile signature. It may be helpful to bring picture identification with you when you vote.

I cannot get enough of that last sentence. I must have read it at least 20 times.

Lastly, if voting is difficult for you because of language or physical disability, the election officials are required to allow assistance:

NRS 293.296  Assistance to voter who is physically disabled or unable to read or write English.

      1.  Any registered voter who by reason of a physical disability or an inability to read or write English is unable to mark a ballot or use any voting device without assistance is entitled to assistance from a consenting person of his or her own choice, except:

      (a) The voter’s employer or an agent of the voter’s employer; or

      (b) An officer or agent of the voter’s labor organization.

      2.  A person providing assistance pursuant to this section to a voter in casting a vote shall not disclose any information with respect to the casting of that ballot.

      3.  The right to assistance in casting a ballot may not be denied or impaired when the need for assistance is apparent or is known to the election board or any member thereof or when the registered voter requests such assistance in any manner.

      4.  In addition to complying with the requirements of this section, the county clerk and election board officer shall, upon the request of a registered voter with a physical disability, make reasonable accommodations to allow the voter to vote at his or her polling place.

      (Added to NRS by 1973, 293; A 1977, 244; 1985, 1093; 1987, 693; 1999, 2156; 2015, 1146)

You, the voter gets to pick whom will assist you. No one else (there are exceptions, see the rest of the law below). 

Still think it is too difficult/inconvenient to vote? I wrote a Not-Very-Modest Proposal to fix our election problems..

Thanks for reading.