(The Center Square) – A Nevada political action committee this week filed two initiative petitions, seeking to bring open primaries and an independent redistricting commission to the state.
The Vote Nevada PAC submitted the petitions, attempting to amend the state Constitution. For that to happen, the initiatives will have to pass in two consecutive general elections. To get each measure on the ballot in November 2026, the PAC would have to get 148,789 signatures.
The first initiative is an amendment to the Constitution’s Article II, Section 1A, which talks about voters’ rights. The measure would add a 12th line to this section, saying, “To fully participate in all publicly funded elections without limitation, including, but not limited to, any requirement to affiliate with any private organization, such as a political party.”
The measure attempts to begin open primaries in Nevada, which currently has closed primaries. According to the petition’s description, political parties still have the “option to fund a closed primary nominating process, similar to a presidential caucus.”
As an example, the Nevada Republican Party funded a private caucus for its presidential preference primary last year, according to a Vote Nevada press release.
Vote Nevada said it wants to make sure “every eligible voter can make their voice heard in every taxpayer-funded election.”
This potential initiative is not the first effort to tried to change Nevada’s elections. In 2024, the state’s residents voted down an initiative that sought to introduce ranked-choice voting. Voters defeated it 53% to 47%.
The second initiative attempts to establish a redistricting commission to create electoral maps for the Nevada Legislature and the state’s congressional seats. It seeks to amend Article IV, Section 5 of the Constitution.
The commission would have seven members, according to the petition’s summary. Legislative leadership will appoint four members, and the other three will be people who are not members of the Republican or Democratic parties. These three members will be named by the four commissioners appointed by the legislative leaders.
Lobbyists, partisan candidates and certain relatives of individuals can’t serve on the commission, the petition summary states.
When making district maps, this commission would make the districts have an “approximately equal number of inhabitants,” the petition summary explains.
It also says the commission would meet to redistrict Nevada’s congressional map after each federal census.
The Vote Nevada press release states this commission differs from the legislative redistricting process because that process is not subject to the state’s Open Meeting Law and Public Records Act.
In 2024, a petition was submitted attempting to create a seven-member independent redistricting commission, but the Nevada Supreme Court struck it down.
