Priorities USA Supports Lawsuit Challenging Ballot Petition That Would Impose Restrictive Voter ID Measures in Nevada
The lawsuit asks the court to block a misleading effort by Republicans to attempt to bypass the Nevada State Legislature to enact restrictive requirements that would disenfranchise lawful voters.
Today, Priorities USA announced its support for a lawsuit filed by a Nevada voter asking the court to block the Nevada Secretary of State from taking further action on a petition, filed by Republican State Senate candidate Raja Mourey, that seeks to create strict voter ID requirements for in-person voters, as well as make it harder for lawful voters to save their mail-in ballots from rejection, and for some voters to register using automatic voter registration. There is no valid justification for these restrictions, the result of which would be the disenfranchisement of lawful voters in Nevada.
The complaint, supported and funded by Priorities USA, and brought by plaintiff Emily Persaud-Zamora, argues that the petition is misleading regarding the instances in which a voter would be required to present identification and what types of ID would be permissible. The complaint also argues that the petition violates Nevada’s prohibition on unfunded mandates in petitions: although it requires the Secretary of State to issue IDs to certain categories of voters, it does so without raising any revenue to cover those costs, which could run into the millions of dollars.
“This is yet another attempt by right-wing actors to undermine democracy and suppress access to the ballot, specifically targeting the voting rights of communities of color,” said Aneesa McMillan, Deputy Executive Director for Priorities USA. “Because Republicans in Nevada have failed to pass voter suppression laws through the democratically elected Legislature, they are turning to vaguely worded, misleading petitions. Policies like this intentionally put voters of color in Nevada at the highest risk of losing access to the ballot. Priorities’ work in the courts will continue to center those most affected by these anti-democratic efforts. Priorities USA remains committed to combating voter suppression no matter the form it takes.”