Cegavske v. Hollowood

The Supreme Court affirmed in part and reversed in part the district court order granting writs of mandamus and prohibition barring the Secretary of State from placing initiative petition questions on the ballot, holding that the district court abused its discretion in issuing a writ of prohibition.

When Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske refused to honor the withdrawals of two verified initiative petitions to place questions on the ballot for the Nevada 2022 general election the sponsors of those petitions obtained writs of mandamus and prohibition to compel the Secretary to recognize to honor the withdrawals. The Secretary appealed, contending that Nev. Rev. Stat. 295.026, the statute setting forth the withdrawal procedure, was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court affirmed, holding (1) section 295.026 is a permissible exercise of the legislature's power to enact statutes to facilities the people's initiative power; (2) the district court did not abuse it discretion in issuing a writ of mandamus compelling the Secretary not to act; and (3) the district court improperly issued a writ of prohibition because the act of placing matters on a ballot is not the type of action subject to prohibition.