Vote Nevada Supporters,

If you are like me and have now watched everything on Netflix, Hulu, and STARS, here is a suggestion for filling your viewing time.  The National Constitution Center hosts engaging town halls on constitutional issues that the public can view live or in a recorded format.  You can access the recordings and the Center’s RSVP system, if you see future events or town halls you’d like to watch, here: https://constitutioncenter.org/

We had a good meeting today on this election cycle’s election and voting bills as well as the large number of Bill Draft Requests still remaining with an election topic.  According to the official legislative calendar, the last day for new bills to be introduced, which do not have an exemption, is March 15^th.  So, unless most of the remaining election BDRs are  going to die, we will have a large wave of new bills arriving at the same time.  Consequently, we must rely on each other to review and share information on new election bills so we can all effectively organize our advocacy efforts. 

You can watch the meeting recording here: https://vote-nevada-blog.org/vote-nevada-community-meeting-recordings/

We also discussed H.R.1, the Fair Maps Nevada redistricting commission amendment, a new approach to running ballot questions, and two ideas for future democracy reform.

The version of H.R. 1 that passed in the House included amendments that mandate redistricting commissions for Congressional maps now, not in 2031.  You can read more here: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2021/3/5/2019576/-Voting-Rights-Roundup-The-House-s-new-voting-rights-bill-now-curtails-gerrymandering-right-away

Some Updates:

We met with Assemblywoman Thomas and representatives from North Las Vegas to clarify that the city will be creating a stand-alone veterans court to address the specific needs of our veteran community. So, whoo! 

On the redistricting front, we are still waiting for Senator Kieckhefer’s resolution to become a bill, which will advance our redistricting commission amendment, but we know the language will be the same as our ballot question.  You can read an op ed I wrote for the Nevada Current requesting a hearing on the resolution here: https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2021/03/04/another-chance-to-curb-the-partisanship-in-redistricting/

The Census Bureau is now estimating it will release the 2020 census data at the end of September, so our official redistricting process will most likely happen in a special legislative session in October.  We had planned to run redistricting software training for community members in June and July, but the Reno Gazette Journal Solutions Board asked if we would consider running mock redistricting commissions in July.  (The Solutions Board endorsed our redistricting commission amendment: https://www.rgj.com/story/opinion/editorials/2021/02/26/rgj-solutions-board-nevada-voters-take-back-redistricting-power-politicians/6802655002/ )

We thought that was a great idea, so, we will not only be offering training for the software that allows the public to draw communities of interest maps and redistricting maps, but Vote Nevada will also partner with anyone interested in running mock redistricting commissions to draw maps. Stay tuned.

Lastly, If you are interested in our upcoming meetings, you can RSVP through any of these links:

3/8 via Zoom: Status of Women Conference: Workforce Development is a Women’s Issue: https://actionnetwork.org/events/csn-status-of-women-conference-workforce-development-is-a-womens-issue/

3/27 via Zoom: Inclusive Workforce Development for Every Nevadan: https://actionnetwork.org/events/inclusive-workforce-development-for-every-nevadan/

NEW 4/24 via Zoom: Earth Day: Why are the birds starving? What birds tell us about climate change: https://actionnetwork.org/events/vote-nevada-why-are-the-birds-starving/

Thanks for being Nevadans with me,

Sondra

Mission Statement:

Vote Nevada is an advocacy engine coupled with a grassroots think tank.  While we offer familiar civics education and engagement activities, we also provide a creative edge for developing solutions for persistent civic issues.  

Vote Nevada is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit civic engagement organization.  Anyone can become a supporter by emailing info@vote-nevada.org, we have no membership dues.  We do, however, accept donations Here