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Secretary of State asks for additional funding to finish statewide voter‑registration system; some public opposition raises cost concerns
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Summary
Deputy Secretary Gabriel DeCarra told the committee the office completed phase 1 of the VRAMS voter‑registration and elections management project and is seeking one‑shot funds to finish phases 2 and 3; an opponent questioned cumulative IT spending and urged a no vote on further large appropriations.
Chief Deputy Secretary of State Gabriel DeCarra and the office’s team told the Senate Finance Committee that Assembly Bill 562 would fund completion of phases 2 and 3 of the voter registration and election management solution (VRAMS), a multi‑phase project first authorized by the Legislature in 2021.
DeCarra said phase 1 was completed prior to the 2024 general election and that the system’s statewide adoption made elections more transparent, secure and accessible by allowing counties to run the same software and share hardware and staffing resources. Phase 2 involves merging Clark County’s instance with the state instance of the vendor’s system; the secretary’s office reported a successful mock election in the merged environment. Phase 3 includes an updated voter portal for tasks such as updating registration and curing signatures.
The office requested support for a one‑shot appropriation to finish remaining work. Support testimony included Silver State Voices’ executive director Emily Persaud Zamora, who said the office should receive funding to complete the project.
An opponent told the committee the request would add roughly $31.2 million to prior VRAMS and related election spending and urged the committee to vote no, expressing concern about cumulative IT costs, earlier appropriations and what the opponent described as repeated budget requests for the secretary’s office.
DeCarra noted to the committee that the office reverted approximately $4.5 million to the general fund and said the office tries to be a good steward of state resources. No formal vote occurred in the hearing.
