ONEHUNDRED ONE NORTHCARSON STREET 555 EAST WASHINGTONAVENUE.

SUITE 5100
CARSON CITY, NEVADA 89701 LAS VEGAS, NEVADA 89101
OFFICE: (775) 684-5670 OFFICE: (702) 486-2500
FAX No.: (775) 684-5683 FAX No.: (702) 486-2505

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August 25, 2020

Hon. Barbara K. Cegayske

Secretary of State
101 North Carson Street, Suite 3
Carson City, NV 89701

RE: Request for Emergency Regulation

Dear Secretary Cegayske:

My office is in receipt of your request for an emergency administrative regulation, dated August
17, 2020. F o r the reasons laid out below, I will not be endorsing the Statement of Emergency
pursuant to NRS 233B.0613.

First and foremost, your Statement of Emergency fails to identify an emergency warranting the
use of NRS 233B.066. The voter assistance sections of Assembly Bill 4 (AB 4), which was just
recently passed by the 32nd Special Session of the Nevada Legislature, referenced in your request
have not yet been utilized in Nevada since no ballots for the upcoming November General Election
have been distributed to date. Thus, there is no indication that these voter assistance rules have
created an emergency or will create an emergency that needs to be addressed through the adoption
of an emergency regulation without public feedback.

In fact, in your Statement of Emergency you have referred to the proposed regulations as a needed
"clarification." T h e NRS 233B emergency regulation process is not intended to be used for
clarification. Furthermore, you have mentioned non-specific experiences of bad actors in other
states, but you've provided no evidence of these examples nor have you attempted to discuss the
specifics of those examples with my office prior to your request and press release.

Regarding the proposed language, I object to your use o f the term "ballot harvester" for the
applicable voter assistance provisions in NRS Chapter 293. "Ballot harvesting" is not a term found
anywhere in Nevada's elections laws, and it is generally a partisan term used to negatively identify
voter assistance provisions in other states.
Furthermore, the basis for your proposal is the ability of your office to properly "investigate and
stop" any illegal activities associated with the voter assistance provisions. The written statement
requirement you propose to implement would not even require an individual to file this information
with your office until the 7th day following the election, which is the last day any mail ballot can
be counted i f post-marked on or before the day of an "affected election" under state law. This
information—received on the last possible day for a mail ballot to be received - would not actually
assist your office in stopping any potential bad actors from utilizing the voter assistance provisions.

However, the provisions o f the bill itself have built in numerous protections for voters by
prohibiting someone who is assisting a voter from impeding, obstructing, or interfering with the
return of a voter's ballot and requirements for timely return. These existing statutory protections
are also supported by criminal penalties, which would make a person who violates these rules
subject to a felony.

The emergency request also has two procedural deficiencies. First, pursuant to NRS 233B.066(1),
emergency regulations must include the informational statement described in subsections 1 and 2.
You've neglected to provide the informational statement required, which would include, among
other information for the public, a clear and concise explanation of the need for the adopted
regulation and the estimated taxpayer cost to your agency for enforcement o f the proposed
regulation. Second, as set forth in NRS 233B.061, the Governor must sign the Statement of
Emergency should the Governor chose to endorse the proposed emergency regulation. T h e
submission to my office only includes a signature block on the regulations, not the Statement of
Emergency.

Finally, I am disappointed that you and your office have attempted to use the emergency regulation
process for what appears to be political reasons. I f you were truly interested in identifying and
instituting safeguards for Nevada's voter assistance laws, you could have worked with my
administration directly —as we have on other projects since I took office — instead of announcing
the request through the media. I have the highest regard for you as the State's Chief Election
Officer, and I have full confidence in your ability to run a fair, transparent and efficient election in
November. However, this request and the corresponding press release echoes the voter
suppression rhetoric being heard on the national stage with respect to Nevada's voter assistance
laws, which have been widely implemented in multiple states.

I will not allow the NRS 233B emergency regulation process to become politicized. F o r that
reason—as well as the policy and procedural reasons set forth herein—I will not be endorsing your
Statement of Emergency.

Sincerely,

Go teve Sisolak
evada

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