IN an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus as the November election draws closer, Nevada is the latest state to approve a plan to send absentee ballots to all active registered voters.
Governor Steve Sisolak on Monday, August 3 signed Assembly Bill 4, which covers conducting elections “adversely affected by certain emergencies or disasters,” including the current COVID-19 pandemic. It also revises provisions on the governing procedures for mail ballots to ensure all voters will automatically receive a ballot in the mail and that minimum amount of polling places are available for those who choose to vote in person.
“This bill will help prevent Nevadans from experiencing the long lines at polling locations they faced during the Primary election, which will protect their safety, safeguard their right to make their voices heard, and help reduce the spread of COVID-19,” he wrote in a tweet on Monday.
He continued, “Nevada is widely recognized as being a leader in election administration, and this bill will enable election officials to continue to support the safest, most accessible election possible under these unprecedented circumstances.”
The new law has garnered response from President Donald Trump, who called it an “illegal late night coup” that will make it “impossible for Republicans to win the state.”
“Post Office could never handle the Traffic of Mail-In Votes without preparation. Using Covid to steal the state. See you in Court!” the president continued.
Lawyers on behalf of the Trump campaign and the Republican Party on Tuesday moved to file a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Nevada against Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske.
“The RNC has a vital interest in protecting the ability of Republican voters to cast, and Republican candidates to receive, effective votes in Nevada elections and elsewhere,” the suit says, as reported by the Nevada Independent. “Major or hasty changes confuse voters, undermine confidence in the electoral process, and create incentive to remain away from the polls.”
Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders comprise 10% of the electorate in the state, with the leading ethnic group being Filipinos.
More than half of all eligible AAPI voters (61%) in Nevada live in Clark County, which includes Las Vegas, according to data from APIAVote.
