Ballot Questions

By Henry Stone

Question 1

Question 1 offers to have the state of Nevada in charge, instead of the Nevada State Board of Regents, in governing Nevada’s public institutions of higher education. It also requires the state legislature to make laws providing "reasonable protection of individual academic freedom" for students, employees, and contractors.

Question 2

Question 2 establishes marriage regardless of gender in the Nevada Constitution. A Yes vote would guarantee this right in Nevada, even if the federal government backtracked.

Question 3

A Yes on Question 3 would increase required annual meetings for the State Board of Pardons and Commissions (SBPC) from two to four, remove the requirement that the governor be a part of the vote for a pardon to pass, and allow any member of the board to submit an issue for consideration. These issues include granting pardons except for treason, life or death sentences without parole, and impeachments, alongside remitting commute punishments, fines, and forfeitures.

Question 4

Question 4 offers to have the state’s declaration of voters’ rights, passed in 2002, switch from being a statute to the Nevada Constitution. Such procedures like early voting, early sample ballots, being able to vote if you’re in line on election day but after the polls close, voting without “intimidation, threats, or coercion”, and having equal access to the elections system without discrimination on the basis of “race, age, disability, military service, employment, or overseas residence” would be solidified as constitutional rights if Yes wins.

Question 6

A Yes on Question 6 would require electric utilities to acquire 50 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2030. Question 6 is a citizen-initiated amendment which needs to be approved in two consecutive elections for it to become a part of the state constitution. It was passed for the first time in 2018, and needs to now pass a second time to take effect.