Nevada AB 246: Revises provisions governing elections. (BDR 24-821)

Bill Text

- 82nd Session (2023)
Assembly Bill No. 246–Assemblymen Torres, Marzola, Watts,
González; Anderson, Backus, Bilbray-Axelrod, Brown-
May, Carter, Cohen, Considine, D’Silva, Duran, Brittney
Miller, C.H. Miller, Monroe-Moreno, Mosca, Newby,
Nguyen, Peters, Summers-Armstrong and Taylor

CHAPTER..........

AN ACT relating to elections; requiring, under certain
circumstances, the Secretary of State, county clerks and city
clerks to ensure that voting materials and certain other
elections information are posted on certain Internet websites
and made available in certain languages; requiring the
Secretary of State to establish a toll-free telephone number
which may be used for a person to receive language
interpretation or translation assistance relating to an election;
requiring such telephone number to be posted at each polling
place and on certain Internet websites and included on
sample ballots; requiring the Secretary of State to include
certain information related to a registered voter’s preferred
language on an application to register to vote; requiring
county and city clerks to make a good faith effort to appoint
election board officers who are bilingual; revising the
information relating to registered voters that is required to be
included on the statewide voter registration list; requiring,
under certain circumstances, a mechanical voting system to
list offices, candidates and ballot measures in a voter’s
preferred language; creating and setting forth the membership
and duties of the Language Access Advisory Committee;
making an appropriation to the Office of the Secretary of
State for certain expenses relating to language access and the
establishment of a toll-free telephone number; and providing
other matters properly relating thereto.
Legislative Counsel’s Digest:
Existing law requires each voting system used by a county or city to provide
voting materials in English and every language in which voting materials are
required to be prepared pursuant to federal law. (52 U.S.C. § 10503; NRS
293.2699) Section 5 of this bill requires the Secretary of State to ensure that voting
materials and other elections information are posted or made available at a polling
place in certain languages. Section 5 further requires the Secretary of State, on or
before January 1 of each odd-numbered year, to review certain data on persons who
are members of a minority group and are of limited-English proficiency in the
State. Based on the review of such data, under certain circumstances, the Secretary
of State and certain county and city clerks are required to ensure that voting
materials and other information are provided in certain other languages. Sections
11-16, 18, 19 and 26-28.5 of this bill make conforming changes to require that
certain elections materials be available in such languages.

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- 82nd Session (2023)
Section 37.5 of this bill requires the Secretary of State to review certain data in
sufficient time for voting materials to be prepared for the 2024 General Election.
Sections 2-4 of this bill, respectively, define the terms “limited-English
proficiency,” “minority group” and “voting materials.” Section 9 of this bill makes
a conforming change to indicate the proper placement of sections 2-4 in the Nevada
Revised Statutes.
Section 6 of this bill requires the Secretary of State and authorizes a county
clerk to establish a toll-free telephone number which may be used by any person to
receive language interpretation or translation assistance relating to an election.
Sections 7, 14-16, 18, 22, 27 and 28 of this bill require each polling place, sample
ballot and Internet website of the county or city clerk, as applicable, to include such
telephone number.
Section 8 of this bill requires the Secretary of State to include on all forms for
an application to preregister or register to vote certain language authorizing a
person who registers to vote to request a sample ballot in a language other than
English.
Existing law requires each county and city clerk to appoint registered voters to
act as election board officers for the various polling places in the county or city, as
applicable. (NRS 293.217, 293C.220) Sections 10 and 25 of this bill require the
county or city clerk to make a good faith effort to appoint election board officers
who are bilingual.
Existing law requires the Secretary of State to prescribe forms for applications
to preregister or register to vote. (NRS 293.507) Section 17 of this bill requires the
Secretary of State to include on each such application a line on which to enter the
applicant’s state or country of birth and a language preference. Section 20 of this
bill requires such information to be included on the statewide voter registration list.
Existing law requires the Secretary of State to establish a system on the Internet
website of the Office of the Secretary of State to allow persons by computer to
preregister and register to vote, cancel such preregistration or registration, update
su