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Wide support in committee hearing for bill to send sample ballots before mail ballots
Summary
Assembly Bill 148 would require sample ballots be mailed before counties distribute official mail ballots and set a specific five- to four‑Monday window for mail-ballot distribution; dozens of civic, partisan and community groups testified in favor.
Assembly Bill 148, presented by Assemblymember Gregory Hafen II, would revise deadlines for distributing sample ballots and mail ballots so that sample ballots arrive before mail ballots and counties dispatch mail ballots in a defined multi-day window ahead of early voting. Hafen said the change aims to reduce voter confusion when mail ballots arrive before voters have received sample ballots or polling information.
Hafen told the Senate committee that under current law sample ballots must be sent before the start of early voting but that the timing of mail-ballot distribution has an open-ended deadline (previously “not later than 20 days before the election”), which permitted some counties to mail ballots earlier than voter education materials. He presented a calendar-based approach: mail ballots would be sent on or after the fifth Monday and not later than the fourth Monday before an election (a one-week window), and sample ballots would be required to be mailed before that window so voters receive sample materials in advance.
More than a dozen civic and advocacy organizations testified in support. Priscilla Gomez of Silver State Voices said AB148 “is a meaningful step forward in reducing confusion” and noted that nearly 45% of Nevada voters used mail ballots in the 2024 general election. The ACLU of Nevada, Campion Legal Center, Make the Road Nevada, Mi Familia y Acción, Nevada Policy, All Voting is Local Action Nevada, the Nevada Republican Party and disability and civic-access groups also testified in favor. Supporters said the bill is nonpartisan and would help voters—including multilingual and under-resourced communities—have time to research candidates and ballot measures before marking official ballots.
Multiple witnesses gave examples of confusion during recent elections when official mail ballots outpaced sample ballots arriving in some counties; several callers from Washoe and Clark counties described instances where voters received official ballots before the sample and needed help distinguishing the two. Supporters emphasized that the bill does not change eligibility to vote or ballot delivery rules beyond timing; Hafen and witnesses repeatedly said the measure is intended to improve voter information and access.
No opposition callers were recorded during the hearing. The bill had previously passed the Assembly unanimously, sponsors said; the committee closed the hearing after extensive support testimony and moved on to other business.
