Trump's executive order would change mail-in ballot laws in Nevada, response divided

Las Vegas (KSNV) — On Tuesday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on federal elections that would require people to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote.

The order also prohibits certain election equipment that uses QR codes.

Another clause that impacts Nevadans and 17 other states, as well as Puerto Rico, has to do with absentee and mail-in ballots.

The order doesn't allow any mail-in or absentee ballots received after Election Day to be counted.

MORE | VOTE NOW: Mail-in ballots

During the COVID pandemic, as everything was shut down to stop the spread of the virus, the Nevada Legislature voted to send mail-in ballots to every active registered voter in the state, and those mail-in ballots could be postmarked by election day and received up to four days later.

In 2021, a bill was passed that would make the rules permanent in the Silver State.

President Trump's order on Tuesday would take away that ability.

Voters will have to get those ballots in on time, whether dropping them off on Election Day or getting them in the mail sooner.

According to stats provided to me from the Secretary of State's office, in Clark County, there were about 451,000 ballots counted in the 2024 presidential election.

Just over 2% of those ballots were received after Election Day.

Lawmakers and organizations are divided on the issue.

Nevada Assemblyman Steve Yeager, in a statement, said in part :

"The Legislature will not consider any of the demands the President made in his Order, because Nevada's elections are the responsibility of Nevadans, their representatives, and their hard-working election workers. I urge Governor Lombardo to affirm that Nevada's elections won't be held hostage to Donald Trump's threats.”

The ACLU of Nevada is also responding to the order,

"What you see here is an administration that is continuing their agenda of trying to continue spreading misinformation about voter fraud, and now that we have a president in the position that he is in weaponizing the federal government to now do what they couldn't do in courts," said Sadmira Ramic, senior staff attorney for the ACLU of Nevada."

But Republican Nevada Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant believes the move could boost voter confidence.

"Even though there was no proof of widespread election fraud in the 2020 election, over 70% of Americans believe something funny went down, and they don't trust our election process, and so this is a step towards gaining the trust of the public back into our election process," said Gallant, who represents District 23."

She says the way the system is set up, voters still have enough time to cast their votes.

"In Nevada, you can early vote up to two weeks before election day. There are sites all over the state where you can do it in person. Everybody gets a universal mail-in ballot, and so you can either mail it in or you can drop it off at the ballot locations," said Gallant.

The Nevada State Director for All Voting is Local Kerry Durmick, however, is worried that the impact of the executive order can have on the curing process as well, which is allowed up to six days after Election Day.

"Basically, your whatever county you live in, will reach out to you and say, Hey, you didn't sign your ballot, or it didn't match," said Durmick. "And you go through that process, and then your ballot is counted. This would completely erase that process."

Durmick says any changes could also have financial implications.

"We would have to come together as a state and completely change the way we're implementing our elections, which would be very expensive and costly to the taxpayer," said Durmick.

Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford's office tells News 3 they are "evaluating potential legal options."

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, similarly, in a statement, said they are working with counsel to research their option.

The statement further read: "Nevada runs some of the most safe, secure, and accessible elections in the country. There has never been evidence of widespread fraud here or anywhere else. The US Constitution clearly gives the authority to administer elections to the states, and Nevada law has checks and balances in place ensure that our elections work for the voters. The voters of Nevada will continue to be our priority, because access to the ballot box is how our citizens hold government accountable."

News 3 has reached out to Governor Joe Lombardo's office and is waiting to hear back.