Vote Nevada Supporters,
The Nevada Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is starting a study this week: Teacher Shortages and the Impact on Education Equity. Our first panel is this Thursday and includes researchers and elected representatives. The meeting is on April 6, 2023, from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm, via Zoom. The public is welcome to attend, so, you can Register here: t.ly/mcQq
Saturday’s Zoom meeting to read through the Governor’s priority legislation went long, so, I am going to record a shorter version to post later this week. But there are three things the attendees discussed quite a bit, so, I would like to share those three things.
We compared the Governor’s bill that repeals the mandate for using restorative justice practices in public schools, AB330, with Assemblywoman Angie Taylor’s bill that also repeals the mandate for using restorative practices in public schools, AB285. One major difference between the bills is the process for monitoring possible disproportional discipline.
AB330 includes a process for collecting data and a supervisory role in monitoring that data for any signs of implicit bias. AB285 does not have parallel language. We discussed this difference quite a bit and whether we need such language.
When we reviewed SB405, which is the governor’s proposal to change current election laws, we discussed the proposed idea to create a new type of ID. The bill proposes creating a voter identification card that uses a person’s status as a registered voter as proof of identity, not a birth certificate.
In Nevada, if a person lacks a DMV driver’s license or ID, we verify their eligibility to vote through the person’s social security number and proof of residency. So, we know a person’s identity because the person is registered to vote. SB405 instructs the DMV to provide voters who cannot receive a driver’s license or DMV-issued ID due to lacking a birth certificate with a free voter ID card that includes the same information as a driver’s license or DMV-issued ID.
We wondered if this new type of state ID could then also be used to apply for social services. All social services require a person to have an official ID to qualify for the services, so, anyone who lacks an ID is shut out from help. Trying to access a birth certificate from another state can be quite burdensome, so, allowing someone to receive a state-issued ID that connects to a person’s social security number instead may remove a barrier to getting vulnerable populations services.
The third thing we discussed in SB405 is that the bill replaces signature verification with number verification when counting mail-in ballots. Instead of signing the outside of the mail-in ballot envelope, the voter writes their driver’s license or DMV-ID number, voter identification number, or the last four digits of their social security number under a flap so it cannot be seen by postal workers. There were thousands of mail-in ballots that went uncounted in the 2022 primary and general elections due to missing or mismatched signatures, so, we discussed whether switching to a number would at least limit the number of ballots with mismatched signatures being thrown out.
I will send out a full review of the bills later this week.
Thank you for being Nevadans with me,
Sondra
Vote Nevada: Solving Problems with Civics
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