Democrats turned Nevada blue last year, and now they've passed a bundle of laws to improve voting
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Democrats won full control of Nevada’s government for the first time in two decades following Gov. Steve Sisolak's victory last year, and they further made history by electing the nation’s first majority-woman legislature. Lawmakers quickly used their newDemocrats turned Nevada blue last year, and now they've passed a bundle of laws to improve voting
Democrats won full control of Nevada’s government for the first time in two decades following Gov. Steve Sisolak's victory last year, and they further made history by electing the nation’s first majority-woman legislature. Lawmakers quickly used their newfound powers to pass a major package of laws designed to protect voting rights, make voting easier, and increase turnout. Chief among the changes is an omnibus law that enables same-day voter registration and implements automatic voter registration at the DMV. That same law also expands early voting availability and gives all voters the option to sign up to permanently receive an absentee ballot at each election. And there’s still more good news. Absentee ballots will now be counted so long as they're postmarked by Election Day; under current practice, ballots had to be received by officials by Election Day. Additionally, when absentee ballots have a problem, such as when a voter's signature is missing or doesn’t appear to match the one on file, officials will be required to contact voters to confirm their identity so that they aren't disenfranchised. Voters will further be guaranteed the right to vote in person on Election Day so long as they're in line by the time polls close, and voters who have to cast a provisional ballot will get to vote on all races in their jurisdiction instead of just in federal contests. Additionally, the legislation codifies into law the option for counties to adopt vote centers. Such centers allow any voter in the county to cast a ballot regardless of where they live, as opposed to the traditional practice that requires voters to visit their local precinct. But that’s not all. The legislature was very busy this year and passed a slew of other bills related to voting to complement this omnibus law. One measure, which passed with bipartisan support, consolidates all local election dates with federal and state elections. That ends the practice in some cities of holding elections in the spring or in odd-numbered years. This change will likely save money, since officials will have to hold fewer elections. More importantly, it will increase voter participation dramatically in local elections across the state, since turnout is almost always much higher in federal and state races. Another law Democrats passed will allow voters to turn in their absentee ballots at any early voting location in their county. Previously voters had to either send such ballots via the mail or drop them off at their county clerk's office, so establishing multiple drop-off locations will make turning in a mail ballot in person much more convenient. That's especially important because the new permanent absentee option will likely lead to increased absentee voting. Read more