(NN&V Staff) – The Independent American Party (IAP) – Nevada’s largest third-party organization – has passed a resolution officially supporting Gov. Joe Lombardo’s proposed legislation (Senate Bill 405) to strengthen the integrity of the election process.
The IAP believes automatic distribution of mail-in ballots to all active registered voters and ballot harvesting can compromise the security and accuracy of the election process.
It agrees that mail ballots should only be sent upon request from registered voters, and that voter ID and stronger signature verification should be implemented to ensure the integrity of the process.
Here’s the full resolution as adopted…
Whereas, in late 2020, just 100 days before the general election, Nevada legislators met in special closed session that was neither livestreamed nor televised, and passed a bill guaranteeing every active registered voter would receive a ballot in the November election, citing emergency measures necessitated by COVID-19; and, in addition to sanctioning mail-in ballots, this bill permitted a practice that has been deemed illegal in many locales and that is commonly known as “ballot harvesting;”
Whereas, with Assembly Bill 321, the 2021 Nevada State Legislature sanctioned the permanent move to mail ballots being automatically distributed to all active registered voters, allowed for the collection of ballots (legalized ballot harvesting), and expanded signature verification measures;
Whereas, mail in ballots that are automatically distributed to all active, registered voters raises huge security questions, and studies show that postal voting in any setting encounters more accuracy errors, and the expense for such a policy is huge unless the cost is shifted to the voters, in which case studies show that participation drops significantly;
Whereas, ballot harvesting is illegal in many states because it violates the concept of the secret ballot, invites intimidation, permits ballot tampering and thus violates the integrity of the election process;
Whereas, Legislators have an obligation to ensure that the “consent of the governed” as a basic principle of government is obtained as universally as possible, with the acknowledgement that voter ID and enhanced signature verification would greatly increase the integrity and trust of the process; and representatives of the people must acknowledge that over 70% of the electorate supports voter ID;
Whereas, the objections to universal distribution of mail in ballots is not a partisan issue, but is confirmed with hard data from the Nevada 2022 mid-term elections, where 95,556 ballots were sent to undeliverable or “bad” addresses, and another 1.2 million ballots never came back to officials for counting, with a minimum estimated postage waste of $2,270,000;
Whereas, the current signature verification process resulted in the rejection of 8,036 ballots in the Nevada 2022 mid-terms, a significant number given that one of the Senate races was won by a margin of less than 8,000 votes, and the current process relies on untrained human eyes comparing marks on file against those on a return envelope – a process that would be inadmissible in a court of law;
Therefore be it resolved, that the Independent American Party of Nevada supports Gov. Joe Lombardo’ s administration’s proposed legislation (Senate Bill 405), which includes: sending mail ballots only upon the request from a registered voter; voter ID, and signature verification provisions that will strengthen the integrity of the election process; and changing the mail-in ballot deadline to allow for timely counting and reporting of results on Election Day.
Be it further resolved, that the most vigorous efforts should be exercised to educate the public and our State legislators on the importance of voter ID; and that strong voter ID (including signature verification enhancements) does not deny election access, but rather is a minimal standard for election integrity, assuring every ballot is counted, every voice is heard and no voter is disenfranchised by the fraudulent actions of another.