Nevada signature requirements
From Ballotpedia
Contents |
Nevada signature requirements for initiative petitions:
- Signatures for a statewide measure must equal 10% of total votes cast in last general election.
- Nevada is one of three states (the others are Colorado and Massachusetts) that doesn't require a higher percentage for constitutional amendments compared to the percentage for a statutory initiative.
- To recall an elected official in Nevada, 25% of the votes cast for that particular office in the last election is required in signatures.
- For a proposed amendment, the signature filing deadline for the November 2010 ballot is May 17, 2010. For an initiated state statute, the signature filing deadline is 30 days before the 2010 session of the state legislature begins.
Signature requirements
| Year | Amendment | Statute | Veto referendum |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 97,002 | 97,002 | 97,002 |
| 2008 | 58,627 | 58,627 | 58,627 |
Geographic distribution requirement ruled unconstitutional
- See also: Distribution requirement
Nevada once required that signatures come from 10% of the total votes cast in the last general election in at least 13 of the state's 17 counties. The geographic distribution requirement was held unconstituitional by a federal court in August 2004 in the case of ACLU v. Lomax.
The Nevada State Legislature then enacted Senate Bill 549 in 2007 which incorporates a stringent new distribution requirement. On February 14, 2008, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Marijuana Policy Project challenging the constitutionality of SB 549.
On September 28, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Philip Pro invalidated Nevada Senate Bill 549 (2007), saying it is unconstitutional, and ordering Secretary of State Ross Miller not to enforce it.[1],[2]
See also
External links
- 2008 Required Signatures from the Nevada Secretary of State's official web site
- NCSL signature chart for 2008
- Nevada signature requirements collated by the Citizens in Charge Foundation
References
- ↑ Mercury News, "Federal judge strikes down Nev. ballot measure law", September 29, 2008
- ↑ Las Vegas Review Journal, "EDITORIAL: Petition requirements", October 2, 2008
