Sponsors seek to ensure sample ballots reach voters before mail ballots with AB 148; bipartisan support at committee hearing

Assemblymember Gregory Hafen II and Speaker Steve Yeager presented Assembly Bill 148 to the Legislative Operations and Elections Committee to address confusion when voters receive official mail ballots before sample ballots. The bill as introduced requires sample ballots to be distributed before mail ballots; an amendment offered by Speaker Yeager would additionally fix a mailing window for official mail ballots so they are sent not earlier than the fifth Monday and not later than the fourth Monday before an election.

Assemblymember Greg Hafen told the committee that in some counties official ballots have been mailed far earlier than sample ballots, creating voter confusion. Speaker Steve Yeager said the amendment would create predictability and ensure voters receive their sample ballots before early voting begins and before they receive the official mail ballot.

Deputy Secretary of State for Elections Mark Wlaschin answered technical questions about related deadlines. He told the committee that current law requires sample ballots be mailed before the early‑voting period (the third Saturday preceding an election) and that clerks must distribute mail ballots no later than 20 days before an election for typical in‑state voters; he also noted that separate provisions set earlier mailing timelines for voters outside the state and for military and overseas voters. Wlaschin referenced the Nevada Constitution’s sample ballot requirement (Article 2, Section 1A(7)) in explaining that sample ballots go to all active registered voters.

The hearing drew broad support from voting‑rights and civic groups. Speakers included Lynn Chapman (Nevada Families for Freedom), Jennifer Willett (All Voting is Local — Action Nevada), Kayla Maessey (ACLU of Nevada), Esmeralda Vasquez (Campaign Legal Center), Ryan Vortish (Silver State Voices), Tara Webster (Progressive Leadership League of Nevada), Noe Orozco (Make the Road Nevada), William Moore (Mi Familia y Acción), Joshua Skaggs (Nevada Republican Party), and others. Supporters told the committee the change is a commonsense measure that would help voters research candidates and ballot measures and reduce post‑mailing confusion. Jennifer Willett said, “Voters should receive their sample ballots before their mail ballots.”

Several witnesses supplied additional context and suggested refinements. Ellen Gifford conditioned her support on language ensuring sample ballots arrive at least one week before mail ballots for all affected voters and noted separate statutory timelines that apply to military and overseas voters. Iris Stone urged the committee to consider the larger policy decision of universal mail ballots, arguing that universal mail‑ballot programs produced large volumes of unused ballots and that changing the underlying universal mail distribution would address timing and cost concerns but would be a separate policy discussion.

During public comment, one caller raised a complaint about the form and accuracy of a sample ballot in Washoe County; Gabriel Decara, chief deputy secretary of state, read into the record a defense of the Washoe County registrar, saying the office worked under difficult circumstances in the 2024 elections and that the registrar did not break the law.

The sponsors told the committee they would follow up on conforming language for out‑of‑state and military timelines and on any vendor or operational questions county clerks might raise. The transcript records no formal committee vote on AB 148 in this hearing.