Officials brief committee on statewide ballot printing, tracking and candidate filing timelines
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Summary
Secretary of State staff reviewed statutory authority for a statewide ballot-printing contract, envelope/tracking requirements and optional contact fields for signature cures; county and state filing offices previewed candidate filing windows and Aurora filing system readiness for March filings.
The Secretary of State’s office briefed Nevada legislators on mail‑ballot packet requirements, the statewide printing option and steps for candidate filings ahead of the 2026 cycle.
Deanna Spicula, HAVA administrator, reviewed the statutory authority that allows the state to enter contracts for statewide ballot printing (AB 192 / NRS 293.2694). She explained uniform outgoing and return envelope requirements — including the USPS Intelligent Mail Barcode (IMB) for tracking, a postage‑prepaid return envelope, county color bars to distinguish envelopes, secrecy sleeves and clear instructions on signature requirements and assistance notices in Spanish. Spicula highlighted an optional contact field designed to help counties reach voters for a signature cure without changing registration data.
Spicula said 16 counties have elected to use the state‑contracted ballot vendor for the 2026 cycle; Clark County plans to continue with its long‑standing vendor due to integration with local sorting equipment. She emphasized that mail‑ballot design and envelope standards are tightly regulated to preserve uniformity and voter clarity.
On candidate filings, Rob Nichols summarized filing windows: judicial filings already occurred in January; the nonjudicial filing period runs March 2–13, 2026, with short withdrawal windows and a March 30 final challenge deadline. Nichols noted AB 491 (2025) requires candidates be registered voters in the jurisdiction they seek to represent and recommended in‑person filing where possible to reduce errors. The Aurora web filing system (aurora.nv.gov) will support candidate filings and provide real-time updates to reduce data-entry issues.
Committee members asked about pending litigation over late‑arriving mail ballots and U.S. Postal Service postmark changes; Deputy Secretary of State staff said they are monitoring a Supreme Court case expected before summer 2026 and urged voters to use drop boxes or deliver ballots in the final week to reduce reliance on postal postmarks.