(Las Vegas Review-Journal) – Nevada could be using a top-down voter registration system as soon as next year’s primary elections, officials said Monday.
Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar told lawmakers that the system, which would create a centralized statewide voter registration database, could be operational by the June 2024 primary elections — with the help of a $30 million appropriation from the state.
“A top down system may not solve every issue facing state and local election officials, but it would go a long way to solving many of the problems we face and will benefit election officials, candidates and the public alike,” Aguilar said.
The state currently uses a top-up system, in which counties maintain their voter lists and send the data to the secretary of state’s office. The top-down system, which was passed unanimously during the 2021 legislative session, aims to increase efficiency and consistency with the state’s voter rolls.
It wasn’t the only ask from the secretary of state’s office, which is requesting more than $61 million in general fund appropriations over the next biennium. That includes approximately $877,000 for the purchase of voter education campaign materials and translation and interpretive voter services, $90,000 for streamlining how voters verify their signature on mail-in ballots, and $1.3 million to support the state’s business registry application, among other items.