Nevada

Slay the Dragon Logo

SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.

 

GET CAUGHT UP

Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.

We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.

Map of the United States of America

Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.

We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.

Slay the Dragon Logo

SLAY THE DRAGON follows everyday people, outraged by what they see as an attack on the core democratic principle that every person’s vote should count equally. This election year, we’re joining together with grassroots partners to put an end to gerrymandering. Because this issue impacts each state differently, we’ve created a map to help you navigate how gerrymandering affects your state and community. SLAY THE DRAGON arrives on demand April 3.

 

GET CAUGHT UP

Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.

We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.

Map of the United States of America

Click on your state in the map above to find out what’s going on and how you can help.

We are partnering with organizations in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin to support the creation of non-partisan redistricting commissions to protect votes across the country.

Nevada

Process

State Legislature

Nevada's state legislative and congressional districts are drawn by the Legislature by ordinary statute, and are subject to the Governor's veto, which the Legislature cannot override.

Criteria

In addition to the federal requirements of one person, one vote and the Voting Rights Act, Nevada’s state constitution (Art. IV § 5) requires that state legislative districts respect county boundaries. In 2011, a Nevada state court issued additional criteria for the special masters drawing both state legislative and congressional districts, ordering them to consider contiguity, political subdivisions, communities of interest, compactness, and avoiding pairing incumbents.

In 2019, Nevada passed AB 450, ending the practice of prison gerrymandering and reassigning currently incarcerated populations to their last-known place of residence for the purpose of redistricting.

Public Input

In the last redistricting cycle, legislative rules required the redistricting committees to seek “the widest range of public input.” This includes providing opportunities for any member of the public to present redistricting plans, and holding hearings in rural and southern portions of the state. The committees held hearings between March 10 and April 2, 2011.

Issues

Pitfalls

Nevada currently has single-party control over redistricting. If single-party control remains when it is time to draw new maps in 2021, there will be an increased risk of partisan and racial gerrymandering.

Census Delays

  • State legislative redistricting plan deadline: end of the first session after the census is taken; likely June 2021 (Art. IV § 5)
  • Congressional redistricting plan deadline: no statutory deadline 

The Census Bureau may delay sending population data to states until as late as July 31, 2021. In the case of delay, Nevada would likely be unable to meet its state legislative redistricting deadline. The Legislature will need to hold a special session to complete redistricting in time for the 2022 elections.

Reform

A ballot initiative was filed on Nov. 4, 2019 that would create a bipartisan redistricting commission, and then was amended and re-filed on Jan. 7, 2020 due to a legal challenge. Though Fair Maps Nevada was granted an extension in Fair Maps Nevada v. Cegavske given the challenges to signature-gathering imposed by the public health crisis, they were only able to receive twelve percent of the signatures required as of one week before the August 5 deadline. While this initiative will not be able to pass in this session, Fair Maps Nevada intends to refile the amendment and start again next year.

  • This initiative would create a seven-member independent redistricting commission and require a redrawing of the district map in 2023. Four of the members would be appointed by the four legislative leaders, and those four would then choose three commissioners unaffiliated with either major party. Final approval of maps would require five votes, with at least one vote per partisan category.
  • The commission would be required to hold public meetings and ensure ample opportunity for public participation, including presenting testimony. All the commission's materials would be public record. Prior to voting on a plan, the commission would make the proposed plan public and allow sufficient time for public review and comment.
  • The initiative would also enshrine redistricting criteria into the state constitution, ranked in order of priority. The criteria begins with compliance with federal law, equal population between districts, and contiguity. Next, districts would be prohibited from denying or abridging the voting rights of racial and language minorities and giving undue partisan advantage or disadvantage on a statewide basis. Then, districts would have to reflect political boundaries and communities of interest, and be reasonably compact. Lastly, the criteria would require districts that are competitive.

History

In the 2011 redistricting cycle, Governor Sandoval repeatedly vetoed both the legislative and congressional maps. The Legislature thus failed to pass redistricting plans, and the matter fell to the courts. Three special masters were appointed to draw the lines, and they released both plans and a report in October 2011. The trial court modified those plans slightly before approving them.

Actions

In 2020, support state legislative candidates who favor fair districting. The entire Legislature is up for election in 2020.

In 2021, participate in the Legislature’s public input process.

  • Obtain Nevada redistricting data from OpenPrecincts.
  • Start to plan out what defines your community – whether it’s a shared economic interest, school districts, or other social or other cultural, historical, or economic interests – and how that can be represented on a map. This will come in handy once the Legislature starts collecting feedback.
  • Use software tools such as Dave's Redistricting App and Districtr to draw district maps showing either (a) what a fair map would look like, or (b) where the community you believe should be better represented is located.

Contacts

Princeton Gerrymandering Project Data provided by the Princeton Gerrymandering Project

State Info

Congressional Boundaries: Drawn by legislature
State Boundaries: Drawn by legislature
Legislative Control: Democratic
Governor's Political Party: Democratic
Last Updated: Oct 13 2020