Nevada expands language access under AB 367, plans Shoshone and ASL materials for 2026

Nevada’s language access program outlined substantive steps to operationalize AB 367 (2025) and expand multilingual and accessible election materials ahead of 2026.

Valerie Martinez, language access program coordinator for the Secretary of State’s office, described a set of deliverables: baseline materials in English and Spanish are already published; the office is contracting certified translators to place documents online in the minimum seven languages required under Section 203 of the Voting Rights Act and Nevada statute; a toll-free hotline providing access in 200 languages is active; and the office will produce ASL and Shoshone-language demonstration videos (Shoshone being an oral language with no written form).

Martinez said the office will deploy plain-language standards, implement transparency tags and clerk verification measures to show last updates, and use AI only under strict guardrails — limited to drafting where human factual and cultural review occurs before publishing. The language access team plans community listening tours, tribal advisory sessions, and partnerships with libraries, DMVs and social-service providers to reach voters in trusted spaces.

Committee members asked whether Nevada’s approach is on par with other states; Martinez said Nevada’s program is consistent with Western states of similar diversity and that tribal outreach on Shoshone is a national leadership example. Staff also emphasized metrics: the office will track multilingual asset counts, interpreter rates, video engagement and poll‑worker recruitment.