Ever wonder why Nevada’s voter rolls are such a mess? The answer is simple: a broken system that was supposed to clean them up isn’t doing its job.
The Help America Vote Verification (HAVV) system was created to keep voter rolls accurate. It’s supposed to check if new voters are who they say they are.
But in Nevada, it’s failing badly.
How It’s Supposed to Work
When someone registers to vote without a driver’s license, officials check three things: their name, birth date, and the last four digits of their Social Security number.
If these match what’s in the Social Security database, great! If not, officials should look closer.
At least, that’s how it should work.
The Nevada Problem
In Nevada, we only check the last four digits of Social Security numbers. States like Virginia and Tennessee check all nine digits. Why doesn’t Nevada do this? Our state officials won’t say.
Even worse, when the system finds a problem, often nothing happens. Bad registrations stay on the books.
This means dead people and folks who moved away years ago are still registered to vote in Nevada.
Shocking Numbers
The facts are startling. In 2024 alone, 233,224 people registered to vote in Nevada. Of those, 88,812 didn’t have a Nevada driver’s license.
And here’s the kicker: 80% of those people (71,195) didn’t match anyone in the Social Security database.
Of the few that did match, 103 matched deceased people. Seven matched multiple people, and one matched multiple dead people!
Since 2011, Nevada has submitted nearly one million names to check. A whopping 68% didn’t match anyone in the Social Security system. That’s more than double the national average of 29%.
Why This Matters
With mail-in ballots going to every registered voter, bad voter rolls mean ballots sent to the wrong places. They could end up with people who shouldn’t have them.
The Pigpen Project, which works to clean up voter rolls, found over 950 dead voters still registered in Nevada.
They also found more than 7,000 people registered here who don’t even live in our state anymore.
What Critics Say
Some people claim voter fraud is rare and that mismatches are just clerical errors. They say we shouldn’t worry.
But this isn’t just about fraud. It’s about having a system we can trust. When people see ballots going to neighbors who moved away or dead relatives, they lose faith in our elections.
Simple Solutions
Nevada could fix this easily:
- Check full Social Security numbers, not just the last four digits
- Actually remove flagged voters from the rolls
- Hold election officials accountable
We already have the technology. What’s missing is the will to use it.
Getting Answers Is Hard
When asked for records about this problem, Nevada’s Secretary of State claimed privacy concerns and wouldn’t share the data. They also haven’t provided their policies for handling mismatches.
This lack of transparency only makes people more suspicious.
The Bottom Line
Until Nevada takes voter verification seriously, our elections will remain vulnerable. Clean voter rolls should be a basic government responsibility. Right now, they’re failing at this simple task.
The real victims are honest voters who just want fair elections they can believe in.
