Assembly Bill 534 – the big election bill proposed by Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar – was passed on the final day of the 2025 session of the Nevada Legislature.
But just because a bill makes it to the governor’s desk doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.
In fact, AB534 was a purely partisan Democrat bill. Not a single Republican legislator voted for it. And there are plenty of reasons why Governor Joe Lombardo should veto it, as outlined below.
To be clear, vetoing this horrible bill won’t change anything. It just keeps the current election rules in place – the same rules Nevada used in 2024.
That’s it. No chaos. No confusion. Just the status quo.
What’s in AB534?
The bill was supposed to “improve” our elections, but it leaves out every single election reform that conservatives, Republicans, and even the governor himself have been asking for.
Instead, AB534 goes the opposite direction. Here are just a few examples of what makes it so bad…
It ties the hands of everyday citizens.
Under AB534, if you know someone no longer lives at a certain address, you’re not allowed to “challenge” that voter unless you personally saw them move.
That means you can’t even use public data, Post Office records, or even a statement from the current resident who confirms the voter moved.
It makes citizen participation in cleaning up the voter rolls almost impossible.
It wastes your money.
Even if someone moves out of state and files a change-of-address with the post office, they’ll still get a mail ballot sent to their old address if they remain on the “Active” voter list.
That’s taxpayer money going straight into the trash.
It makes it harder to remove dead voters.
Only family members – within a limited degree – can report a death.
A landlord, neighbor, or friend can’t help. And the relatives have to fill out a sworn affidavit.
That’s more red tape and fewer clean voter rolls.
It lets state officials rewrite audit rules.
The bill swaps out the term “Risk-Limiting Audit” and replaces it with “Election Accuracy Audit.”
That might sound harmless, but it’s a sneaky way of letting the Secretary of State change how audits are done.
And without using national standards, those audits might not be worth much.
It bans hand counts.
Even if a local county wants to hand count ballots for transparency, AB534 says no.
Everything has to be done by machine – even though hand counts are allowed under federal election guidelines and supported by many voters as a way to rebuild trust.
It’s an unfunded mandate.
Several sections of the bill create new duties for local election offices. But the state doesn’t give them any money to do it.
That means counties will be forced to pay the bill – and maybe cut elsewhere.
The state’s own financial report says this could “have fiscal impact.”
It takes control away from counties.
Under this bill, counties can’t even cancel or replace voting machine contracts without asking the Secretary of State for permission. That puts even more power in the hands of one office in Carson City.
It threatens federal funding.
Nevada has asked for over $30 million in federal election grants.
But AB534 might conflict with federal rules, like Executive Order 14248 and voting system guidelines.
If that happens, Nevada could lose that money – and be stuck footing the bill ourselves.
In addition, AB534 does nothing to improve election security. It doesn’t include:
- Stronger voter ID laws
- Signature verification upgrades
- Checks against DMV or other databases
- Any reforms that Republicans or conservatives have pushed for
It’s a one-sided partisan bill that rewrites election law while ignoring the concerns of nearly half the state.
Supporters of the bill argue it will “streamline” election processes and “modernize” Nevada’s system.
But streamlining shouldn’t come at the cost of accuracy, accountability, or public trust.
The Bottom Line: AB534:
- Makes elections less secure
- Wastes taxpayer money
- Puts too much power in one office
- Blocks real reform
If Gov. Lombardo vetoes the bill, it doesn’t change any current law. It just keeps things how they are.
That gives everyone more time to come up with a better, bipartisan solution next session.
Let’s not rush through a flawed, partisan law just to say we did “something.”
Let’s get it right. Veto AB534.
