A Nevada ballot measure asks voters if they would support additional requirements for in-person voting, including presenting government-issued photo IDs. It also asks for additional identifying information for those who mail their ballots, such as providing the last four digits of a driver’s license or social security numbers.
The measure, Question 7 on the November ballot, is supported by Republicans and conservatives.
But Athar Haseebullah, Executive Director of the ACLU of Nevada, opposes additional voting restrictions, adding that voting ID requirements are completely different than ID laws imposed to purchase items like liquor or cigarettes.
“There's no constitutional right to buy beer, there's no constitutional right to buy cigarettes,” Haseebullah said. “There is a constitutional right to vote. We don't think voting rights should be infringed upon.”
Haseebullah also said low-income, tribal and rural voters could be affected if the state does not provide a means to obtain free IDs.
Other opponents like Quentin Savwoir, President of NAACP Nevada, say voters already must provide an ID when registering to vote. Nevada also has a signature verification system.
“We should be looking for ways to increase voter turnout than to suppress it,” Savwoir. “And voter ID laws do the exact opposite.”
Colorado has passed measures to improve access to voting, including providing ballots in different languages. Wyoming has increased restrictions by requiring IDs to be presented during in-person voting.
Haseebullah predicts if this measure passes in Nevada, it will be challenged in court.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio (KNPR) in Las Vegas, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
