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CARSON CITY, Nevada: The Nevada Legislature approved SB 212, a measure requiring that a minimum number of signatures come from each of the state's U.S. House of Representatives districts. The new distribution requirements come after previous attempts by the legislature to add similar restrictions to the initiative process, all of which were found unconstitutional. The approved bill was given to Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons for signature.[1]
Ballot access activist Richard Winger questioned the logic of the bill:
- "Most states with the initiative do not have distribution requirements. When a bill passes a legislature, no one worries about whether the legislators who vote for the bill represent all sections of the state. The only thing that matters is whether it receives a majority of the vote in that legislative chamber. Also, when a bill is introduced in a legislature, no state requires that the bill be co-sponsored by legislators from diverse ends of the state. By analogy, then, one wonders why only initiatives are required to show support in all ends of a state."[2]
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