A Nevada bill for a tighter election fraud law is under contention as state lawmakers debate its severity and clarity.
Calls for stricter voting rules came after the 2020 election when six Nevada Republicans were accused of signing fake Electoral College certificates to claim Donald Trump had won the presidential race in the state, encouraged by Trump campaign officials. Joe Biden, who was elected president that year, won Nevada’s slate of electors in the Electoral College.
The six Republicans were indicted by a Clark County grand jury in 2023 on charges of offering a false instrument and uttering a forged instrument. But that case was dismissed by a Clark County District Court judge in Las Vegas over a question of venue.
Attorney General Aaron Ford last summer filed an appeal of the dismissal with the Nevada Supreme Court and re-filed the forged instrument charges in Carson City.
The attorney general has also said there is no Nevada law to specifically address the form of alleged election fraud in the Nevada electors case.
In response, 13th District state Democratic Sen. Skip Daly proposed a bill that would make the intentional faking of Electoral College certificates a felony. After the bill passed the state Senate in 2023, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed it, calling the punishment of four to 10 year of imprisonment too severe.
In January, Daly once again proposed to make the signing of fake voting certificates illegal. This year’s new legislation, Senate Bill 100, reduces the punishment to one to four years of imprisonment. The fine of up to $5,000 that had previously been included was kept.
During a public hearing Tuesday about Daly’s bill, there was notably more opposition than support.
Many attending the Senate Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections meeting were government employees who expressed concern about the bill’s clarity and wondered what unintended impacts the law could have.
“We all agree that election integrity and a smooth election process are of high priority. However, I stand in opposition,” said North Las Vegas City Clerk Jackie Rogers at the Carson City hearing. “The city clerk wears many hats – election management is only one.”
If a city clerk is removed for an “untimely or inappropriate election process,” that would leave other responsibilities unmanned, Rogers said.
Rogers said the Secretary of State would fill in for the election portion of a removed city clerk, but noted that would leave other duties neglected.
Daly said his bill was not revolutionary.
“I wanted to point out that it is already a crime for a public officer or other person to willfully neglect or hinder election law. But there is not an efficient, effective or timely process for making sure that any such neglect or hindrances don’t disrupt or delay election processes,” Daly said. “This bill would put in that fail safe – or at least that’s what we’re trying to do.”
No action was taken on the bill during the hearing, but the mixed show of support and concern led Daly to conclude the bill needs further tweaks.
