2019 Nevada Revised Statutes
Chapter 293 - Elections
NRS 293.518 - Persons must indicate affiliation or nonaffiliation with political party at time of preregistration or registration; circumstances when party listed as “nonpartisan”; duties of county clerk or field registrar of voters. [Provisions of this section were amended by an initiative petition approved by the voters at the 2018 General Election, and therefore those provisions may not be subject to legislative amendment or repeal until after November 27, 2021.]
1. Except as otherwise provided in NRS 293.5737 and 293.5742, at the time a person preregisters or an elector registers to vote, the person or elector must indicate:
(a) A political party affiliation; or
(b) That he or she is not affiliated with a political party.
A person or an elector who indicates that he or she is “independent” shall be deemed not affiliated with a political party.
2. If a person or an elector indicates that he or she is not affiliated with a political party, or is independent, the county clerk or field registrar of voters shall list the person’s or elector’s political party as nonpartisan.
3. If a person or an elector indicates an affiliation with a major political party or a minor political party that has filed a certificate of existence with the Secretary of State, the county clerk or field registrar of voters shall list the person’s or elector’s political party as indicated by the person or elector.
4. If a person or an elector indicates an affiliation with a minor political party that has not filed a certificate of existence with the Secretary of State, the county clerk or field registrar of voters shall:
(a) List the person’s or elector’s political party as the party indicated in the application to preregister or register to vote, as applicable.
(b) When compiling data related to preregistration and voter registration for the county, report the person’s or elector’s political party as “other party.”
5. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 6, if a person or an elector does not make any of the indications described in subsection 1, the county clerk or field registrar of voters shall:
(a) List the person’s or elector’s political party as nonpartisan; and
(b) Mail to the person or elector a notice setting forth that the person has been preregistered or the elector has been registered to vote, as applicable, as a nonpartisan because he or she did not make any of the indications described in subsection 1.
6. Except as otherwise provided in subsection 7, if a person who is preregistered or registered to vote:
(a) Submits a new paper application to preregister or register to vote in the same county in which the person is preregistered or registered to vote; and
(b) Does not make any of the indications described in subsection 1 on the new paper application,
the county clerk or field registrar of voters shall not change the person’s existing political party affiliation that was established by his or her prior application pursuant to this section and is listed in the current records of the county clerk.
7. The provisions of subsection 6 do not apply to a voter who registers to vote using the National Mail Voter Registration Application promulgated by the United States Election Assistance Commission pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act, 52 U.S.C. §§ 20501 et seq., as amended.
(Added to NRS by 1993, 2167; A 1995, 680, 2273, 2784; 2003, 1654; 2017, 3857; 2018 initiative petition, Ballot Question No. 5; 2019, 3389)
