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Public commenters press committee on evidence for election‑official protections, obsolete statutes and precinct scanner rules
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Summary
Two callers urged lawmakers to review the evidence supporting NRS 293.705 and to update laws and regulations describing obsolete voting equipment; one caller also urged review of rules that allow precinct tabulators to digitize ballots at the polling place.
During two public-comment periods at Thursday's meeting, callers pressed the committee on the legal and technical underpinnings of Nevada election law.
Caller Ellen Gifford said a requester’s FOIA submissions returned few records documenting the kinds of incidents that NRS 293.705 was intended to prevent. "15 recipients responded they had no such records," she said, questioning whether the 2023 law — which makes threats to elections officials a felony — had a public evidence basis and asking the secretary of state to disclose supporting records.
Oscar Williams, a caller from Reno, urged the Legislature to update statutes that still reference direct‑recording electronic machines and other legacy technologies no longer used in Nevada voting. Later in the meeting Williams raised a regulatory concern about R090‑25RP1 §7, saying that removing the phrase limiting signature‑verification devices to temporary network connections could weaken cybersecurity. He also argued that precinct scanner/tabulator use at the polling place effectively digitizes a voter’s paper ballot and that voters should have the option of simple paper‑ballot box submission and central counting.
Neither commenter produced documentary evidence during the meeting; officials present described the statutory protections and technical changes but did not make new disclosures in response to the FOIA question. The committee took no immediate action on the points raised during public comment.
