MEMO: Legislative Commission to Vote on Hand Counting Election Regulation

September 28, 2023

Today, the Nevada Legislative Commission will vote on whether to adopt Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar’s election regulation recommendations for the election manual that will be used by election administrators for the upcoming 2024 elections. 

Landscape Context and SOS role:
The Secretary of State is required by state law to establish uniform statewide regulations for election administration. The goal of the election manual is to codify standards and procedures for election functions. The Legislative Committee will either veto or vote on election regulations, and the final copy of the election procedures manual must be approved by the Attorney General. 

It is worth noting that the SOS is not allowed to adopt regulations that violate state or federal laws. 

The Hand Count Regulation:
“Hand count” means the process of tabulating the results of an election where the primary method of counting the votes cast for each candidate or ballot question does not involve the use of an electronic tabulation system, the usual preferred method of counting ballots.

The election regulation on hand counting would ultimately allow hand counting to take place in counties, and county clerks/registrars would be able to submit a plan focused on hand counting as their primary method to hold an election at least 90 days before the next election. The regulation does not indicate how ballots will be protected nor how adequate security measures will be ensured.

Rather than focusing on running elections and ensuring every Nevadan can cast a ballot that counts, a faction of conspiracy theorists are working to take power from voters, influence elections for their own gain, and push to disrupt elections using every tactic at their disposal. Hand counting ballots is a conspiracy theory-driven tactic used to sow distrust and disrupt elections, and counting ballots by hand is proven to be more prone to error than machine counting. It’s no secret that hand counting goes against best practices and the recommendations of election experts. 

Legislative Commission Members: 
The legislative commission is composed of 12 members (7 Democrats, and 5 Republicans).  It is important to note that current members may ask someone from their party to substitute them in their place, which happens often. In addition, Nevada has a citizen legislature so a majority of these members have day jobs and are not easily reachable outside of legislative session.

Other resources: 
Hand Count Regulation 
Informational Statement about the Process
SB 54 Election Procedure Manual

For more information or to speak to an All Voting is Local Nevada team member, please contact Sarah Khan-Williamson at [email protected] or (703)-798-1746.