Nevada state legislature looks to codify ballot harvesting while adding straight-ticket voting

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The Nevada state legislature is looking to permanently codify emergency voting procedures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as ballot harvesting, while also eyeing the addition of straight-ticket voting to state law.

On Wednesday, the Democrat-controlled Nevada General Assembly passed Assembly Bill 321, a measure that legally codifies ballot harvesting and expanded mail-in voting measures initially implemented as the COVID-19 pandemic coincided with the 2020 election cycle.

Additionally, the state Senate is considering Senate Bill 292, which would implement straight-ticket voting in the state. This means voters could check a single box at the top of the ticket to vote for all the candidates of a particular party.

Republicans say they are concerned that the two bills could undermine voters' trust in elections.

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Former Nevada Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison said in a statement on Thursday that the "pandemic-inspired changes" from 2020 have eroded "the faith many Nevadans had in the electoral process."

"Democrats and Gov. Sisolak promised mailing unsolicited ballots and allowing paid partisan staffers to go door-to-door collecting strangers' ballots would only be for emergencies, and less than a year later they are going back on their word," Hutchison said.

"But those dangerous reforms aren't enough for some Nevada Democrats. While red and blue states eliminate laws that allow for straight-ticket voting, our state is moving in the opposite direction and pushing to bring this failed practice here in the Silver State," the former lieutenant governor said.

"This will increase extreme politics and partisan divide in Nevada and further erode the trust Nevadans have in their elections," he added.

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Republican National Committee (RNC) chairwoman Ronna McDaniel spoke out against the legislation in a Twitter thread, saying the GOP in the state was "fighting back."

"Codifying these practices is a recipe for disaster," McDaniel wrote. "It is reported that in 2020, 20% of mail ballots in Clark County were sent to outdated addresses, leading to hundreds of thousands of unclaimed live ballots statewide."

"Both Democrat and Republican states have pushed to remove a box for straight party ticket voting," she continued. "It reduces civic engagement, and when combined with partisan ballot harvesting, it will allow partisan activists to harvest straight-ticket ballots."

AB 321 passed the Nevada lower house on Wednesday and was sent to the state Senate on Thursday.

Several states from across the political spectrum have moved recently to abolish straight-ticket voting from their states.

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Republican stronghold Texas removed the straight-ticket voting option via legislation in 2017 that went into effect this past cycle. Utah, another Republican-dominated state, also banned the practice in 2020.

Democrat-led states such as Michigan and Pennsylvania have also abolished straight-ticket voting.