Category Archives: Uncategorized

Vote Nevada: Sunday Zoom Q&A Discussion Forums

Vote Nevada Supporters,

A lot happens every day now, so it’s easy to feel overwhelmed and anxious.  Our anxiety is partially rooted in wondering if we are in a historical pattern or uncharted territory. 

If it’s a historical pattern, discovering past solutions can help alleviate our angst.

Americans, however, excel at repeating the past while also inadequately focusing on what causes encore performances.  Consequently, we consistently produce the same poor outcomes and wonder why. 

How can we address that problem?

We should address day-to-day issues while also pausing to discuss our maladaptive behaviors.  

To get the ball rolling, I am hosting a Zoom Q&A Discussion Forum every Sunday evening from 7 to 8 pm, starting this Sunday, September 28th. 

If you have questions about current events or ideas for reforming our recurring dysfunction, please join me.

You can access the Zoom link, or ask me questions via text or email, here: https://vote-nevada-blog.org/ask-dr-c-civics-history-questions/

Thank you for being Nevadans with me,

Sondra

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. 

You can now donate to Vote Nevada through PayPal at  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=L423L7FBMMBEA

 

 

Vote Nevada Ballot Questions Information

Vote Nevada Supporters,

I want to share background information on the two ballot questions we filed today with the Secretary of State’s office.  Below you will find a link to the Secretary of State’s Ballot Petitions website as well as the very detailed press release, which we put out for the news media.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Sec. of State Ballot Petitions: https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/elections/2026-petitions

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Refer to the link at the end for background information and essential details.

On September 9, 2025, Vote Nevada PAC exercised our state constitutional right to amend Nevada’s constitution through the ballot question process.  This right is under threat and must be protected and preserved. 

We refiled the independent redistricting commission ballot question as it was filed in 2020, 2022, and 2024.

Nevada’s redistricting process is plainly corrupt and must be put into alignment with Nevada’s transparency and accountability laws.

We are not proposing a nonpartisan redistricting commission; instead, we support a balanced commission with Democrats, Republicans, and non-major-party Nevadans.  Currently, while nonpartisan and third-party voters comprise just under 43% of registered voters, nonpartisan and third-party elected representatives comprise 0% of our legislature. 

The proposed commission, therefore, aligns with the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of representative government and provides a seat at the table for all Nevadans.

Our redistricting commission will be independent of our legislative redistricting process. This is key to our proposal.  Currently, our legislature exempts itself from Nevada’s Open Meeting Law and Public Records Act, which means it exempts itself from transparency and accountability. 

Consequently, legislators draw the people’s redistricting maps behind closed doors, blocking the public’s right to know who is enabling Nevada’s politicians to pick their voters.  This is an indefensible, corrupt process that must change.

If our legislators were interested in addressing this corruption, the legislative majority could have heard and passed AJR5 in the 2025 legislative session, yet the bill failed to receive even a hearing.  Assemblywoman Kasama’s bill proposed amending the Nevada Constitution to put redistricting under our Open Meeting Law and Public Records Act.

Our ballot question also limits redistricting to the 180 days following the release of the Census, so there will be no mid-cycle redistricting.  This obviously addresses the partisan nonsense in the news right now.

Our amendment transfers existing funding for redistricting from the legislative process to the independent redistricting commission, which is similar to Ballot Question 6 and Ballot Question 7 from 2024.  Neither of those ballot questions includes a taxing mechanism despite expending state funds due to the presumption that current state funding can be used to implement those two amendments.

This proposed amendment also utilizes the exact wording of Senate Joint Resolution 6 from the 2025 Nevada legislative session. As a legislative resolution, it was written by the Legislative Counsel Bureau, which comprises attorneys who write legislation; therefore, our ballot question meets all current legislative legal qualifications.

To further strengthen the rights of voters, we will also fill a second, related ballot question.

Second Ballot Question: Reduce Barriers to Primary Voting

Currently, we have segregated primary elections where members of the two major private political organizations exclude non-party members from participating in their closed, taxpayer-funded primaries.

We must ensure every eligible voter can make their voice heard in every taxpayer-funded election.   The two major private political parties do have a protected right of association, but they do not have a right to force taxpayers to pay for their internal nominating functions.

This problem is happening even though in 2020 Nevadans put a Voter Bill of Rights in our constitution, which states that all eligible voters have a right:

  1. To equal access to the elections system without discrimination, including, without limitation, discrimination on the basis of race, age, disability, military service, employment or overseas residence.

https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/elections/voters/voters-bill-of-rights

To clarify this right, we are filing a second ballot question to add the right to equal participation in all taxpayer-funded elections regardless of political affiliation to our state constitution’s Voter Bill of Rights. 

  1.   To fully participate in all publicly funded elections without limitation, including, but not limited to, any requirement to affiliate with any private organization, such as a political party.

Political parties can engage in privately funded nominating processes if they so desire.  For example, in 2024, the Nevada Republican Party ran a private caucus in the presidential preference primary, and the national Democratic Party hosted a private Zoom meeting to select Kamala Harris.

In closing: 

In 2024, both political parties advised voters not to support Ballot Question 3 because the BQ3 campaign had received outside funding.  They did this knowing it is almost impossible to pass a ballot question without millions of dollars, which is why their preferred ballot questions (6 & 7) also received outside funding.

Vote Nevada is comprised of Nevadans with no outside funders; we simply need the opportunity to speak to our fellow Nevadans to try to pass necessary democracy reforms.  If either of the political parties sues to stop us so they can maintain control of our democracy, the parties will win, and we will lose our right to fix what the parties have broken. 

History of Redistricting Reform in Nevada

 Thank you for being a Nevadan with me,

 Sondra

Vote Nevada is now qualified to receive donations through
Smith’s Inspiring Donations; you can read more about how to donate to Vote Nevada each time you use your Smith’s loyalty card here https://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/i/community/smiths-inspiring-donations

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. You can now donate to Vote Nevada through
PayPal at  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=L423L7FBMMBEA

 

 

Vote Nevada Update 8/7/2025

Vote Nevada Supporters,

I’ve added the People’s Party to the Poor People’s Campaign presentation recording to the Vote Nevada Blog Summer of Civics 2025 page. You can access it here: https://vote-nevada-blog.org/summer-of-civics-2025/

I posted a similar piece on my blog: https://sondracosgrove.substack.com/p/advantaging-economic-players

We now have confirmation that there will be a special legislative session this fall, but the date and specific topics haven’t been decided yet. https://www.ktnv.com/news/nevada-lawmakers-may-hold-a-special-session-for-failed-2025-bills

Thanks for being Nevadans with me,

Sondra

Vote Nevada is now qualified to receive donations through
Smith’s Inspiring Donations; you can read more about how to donate to Vote Nevada each time you use your Smith’s loyalty card here https://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/i/community/smiths-inspiring-donations

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. You can now donate to Vote Nevada through
PayPal at  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=L423L7FBMMBEA

 

Let’s Chat: About Immigration in American History

Vote Nevada Supporters,

Summer is upon us, yet nothing is lazy.  So much is happening, it’s hard to keep up.

Based on some initial analysis of the President’s bill, it doesn’t appear that anything that could bust our state budget could happen until 2027.  That does not mean we are out of the fiscal woods, however, for two reasons.

First, President Trump is still withholding money Congress appropriated for the states before this year.  That money was built into our last budget cycle, so we may have shortfalls to overcome this cycle. Whether that will require a special legislative session is unclear.

Second, due to the President’s erratic tariff practices, the U.S. economy is starting to slow and show signs of weakness.  Las Vegas is very resilient, so tourists are still coming, just not as many.  If our projected revenue for this budget cycle starts to fall short, budget cuts may be in our future.

The news is also full of immigration enforcement tactics that lack the required adherence to due process. It is frustrating to try to understand how we ended up here; unfortunately, the politicization of immigration policy began with President John Adams and the 1798 Alien and Sedition Acts. 

President Adams and his Federalist Party targeted immigrants who might one day vote for his rival, Thomas Jefferson, and the Democratic-Republican Party. 

If you are interested in a brief history of immigration policy in American history, I am offering a one-hour Zoom session this Saturday, July 19th, from 9 to 10 am.  In addition to teaching U.S. history, I also teach Latin American Studies, so we can discuss why so many people flee from Latin American nations and the role of the U.S. in creating those conditions.

You can RSVP for the meeting here: https://vote-nevada.news/American-Immigration-History

I know it seems like the next primary election is far away, but it will be here faster than we can imagine.  In this midterm, we will elect a Governor, a state Attorney General, a Sheriff, and many judges, so it will be vital for every voter to be a Primary Voter.  Let’s start talking to friends and family now about voting. 

 Thank you for being a Nevadan with me,

 Sondra

Vote Nevada is now qualified to receive donations through
Smith’s Inspiring Donations; you can read more about how to donate to Vote Nevada each time you use your Smith’s loyalty card here 
https://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/i/community/smiths-inspiring-donations

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. You can now donate to Vote Nevada through
PayPal at  
https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=L423L7FBMMBEA

Vote Nevada Update: 6/27/2025

Vote Nevada Supporters,

I am predicting we won’t see any lazy days this summer.  

The dust hasn’t quite settled from the legislative session, yet we already have candidates who have announced their intention to run for office in 2026.  

Before we head into election mode, though, we also need to focus on the interim legislative session, as well as a host of county and municipal meetings, which will cover critical issues related to bill implementation and new policies.

To maintain that focus, we have one more weekend of Vote Nevada Summer of Civics 2025 workshops, after which we will be ready to tackle each working group’s priorities.  

You can join as many working groups as you like.

You can see each working group’s title and recorded kick-off meeting here: https://vote-nevada-blog.org/summer-of-civics-2025/

You can also RSVP for either or both of this weekend’s meetings on the same page. 

This weekend’s meetings are:

Ballot Questions 101: RSVP for the Kick-Off Meeting

Oral History Project: Women in Trades: RSVP for the Kick-Off Meeting 

These meetings have recordings from the past two weekends:

People’s Interim Committee: Kick-Off Meeting Video.

Preparing for 2026: Kick-Off Meeting Video.

2026 Civics Voter Guide: Kick-Off Meeting Video.

Civics Education & Engagement: 101: Kick-Off Meeting Video.

Thank you all for being Nevadans with me,

Sondra

Vote Nevada is now qualified to receive donations through

Smith’s Inspiring Donations; you can read more about how to donate to Vote Nevada each time you use your Smith’s loyalty card here https://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/i/community/smiths-inspiring-donations

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. You can now donate to Vote Nevada through

PayPal at  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=L423L7FBMMBEA

 

 

Vote Nevada Summer of Civics 2025 is Underway!

Vote Nevada Supporters,

Summer of Civics 2025 is officially underway! We had two successful working group kick-offs this past weekend.  Our People’s Interim Committee & Preparing for 2026 kick-off meeting recordings are on this blog webpage: https://vote-nevada-blog.org/summer-of-civics-2025/

See the menu above.

If you hear something you like in either of these meeting recordings, which are approximately one hour long each, you can join by emailing me. 

Please feel free to also RSVP for the remaining four kick-off meetings, scheduled for the next two weekends, on the same webpage above.

***************************************************************************

The People’s Interim Committee will begin by seeking volunteers to follow boards, commissions, councils, and offices that can address our priority issues.  

We would like to have at least one person per governing body who can post about the items on upcoming meeting agendas, as well as any actions taken on our priority issues.  We need to maximize local government efforts to address the problems that weren’t fully addressed by our legislature and governor.

 **************************************************************************

The Preparing for 2026 Working Group would like to inform anyone considering running for office that we can offer workshops and mentoring for new candidates.  This includes partisan and nonpartisan opportunities to run.

We are also off and running to ensure all voters know that our mid-term elections are very important.  We elect the Governor, Lt. Governor, Secretary of State, Attorney General, Treasurer, Controller, District Attorney, Sheriffs, judges, and many more in this midterm. 

If justice reform is important to you, voting in our midterms is vitally important.

We will be launching the ‘Be a Primary Voter’ campaign in July.

***************************************************************************

The recorded working group meetings are only an hour long. If you are interested in these two groups or any of the others, please feel free to join.

Thank you for being a Nevadan with me,

Sondra

 

 

Vote Nevada Legislative Review Recap

Vote Nevada Supporters,

I apologize if you receive this information twice.

Included in this message is the meeting recording, invitations to the upcoming Summer of Civics events, and some links for more information.

This is the meeting recording: https://vote-nevada.news/Legislative-Review-Recording

You can access the legislature’s website here: https://www.leg.state.nv.us/

Summer of Civics Working Groups

People’s Interim Committee: This working group will identify policy issues that failed to advance during the past legislative session but could be addressed by another level of government.  We will also explore what needs to be a priority for the next legislative session.  People Centered Workforce Development and Lifting People Out of Poverty will be top priorities.

June 14th from 9 to 10 am via Zoom, RSVP: https://vote-nevada.news/Peoples-Interim-Committee

Preparing for the 2026 Election Cycle: Vote Nevada will provide guidance on how to run for office, while working group members will develop an advocacy agenda for the election cycle and discuss community events that candidates can also attend. The focus will be on the community.

June 15th from 9 to 10 am via Zoom, RSVP https://vote-nevada.news/Preparing-for-2026

Create a 2026 Civics Voter Guide: This will be an electronic voter guide that offers civics information as well as candidate information.   We will need volunteers to help gather election and civics information that we can include to help new voters.

June 21st from 9 to 10 am via Zoom, RSVP: https://vote-nevada.news/Civics-Voter-Guide

Civics Education & Engagement 101: This working group will discuss strategies for engaging with reluctant voters.  Telling people they don’t understand the importance of voting or trying to shame them into voting can backfire.  We need some conversation prompts that acknowledge why a voter may choose not to vote as a solution.  Young voters, in particular, need to be heard first.

June 22nd from 9 to 10 am via Zoom, RSVP: https://vote-nevada.news/Civics-Ed-Engage

Ballot Questions 101: We will discuss the ballot question process, including which ballot questions will appear on the 2026 ballot and potential additional ballot questions that may be added.

June 28th from 9 to 10 am via Zoom, RSVP: https://vote-nevada.news/Ballot-Questions-101

 Oral History Project: This working group will gather evidence for possible bills in the 2026 legislative session.  Our first project involves interviewing women who have worked or are currently working in the trades, allowing them to share their experiences.  We need to understand why there are so few women in the trades, which offer jobs that lift people out of poverty.

June 29th from 9 to 10 am, via Zoom: https://vote-nevada.news/Oral-History-Project

Feel free to join as many working groups as you’d like.

You can subscribe to the Vote Nevada Blog here: https://vote-nevada-blog.org/

You can subscribe to my Substack Blog here: https://sondracosgrove.substack.com/ 

Thank you for being a Nevadan with me,

Sondra

Vote Nevada is now qualified to receive donations through Smith’s Inspiring Donations; you can read more about how to donate to Vote Nevada each time you use your Smith’s loyalty card here  https://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/i/community/smiths-inspiring-donations

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. You can now donate to Vote Nevada through PayPal at  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=L423L7FBMMBEA

 

 

Vote Nevada Update: 5/22/2025

Vote Nevada Supporters,

We are approaching the end of the legislative session, and unfortunately, we still have many unknowns. The budget is a large part of the problem, but our legislative leadership and the Governor still haven’t reached an agreement on some major policy issues.  

Donor organizations seem to have the most pull right now, but if you have bills that haven’t died, we still have over a week left for advocacy.  The session ends on June 2nd.

We can also start planning for summer! ~

With the temperature rising, it’s almost time for Vote Nevada’s Summer of Civics 2025. 

Here is our current list of topics/events:

*The People’s Interim Committee:  Review bills that died to extract good ideas that local government can address.

*Discussion on amending the U.S. Constitution: Are we due for the next round of amendments?

*Recording oral histories: Women in the trades.

*The ballot question process and what’s in store for 2026.

*Workshop: Learn how to run for office as a nonpartisan. 

*What does a people-centered workforce development agenda include?  Workforce development must be more than just training people for jobs.

*Getting ready for the 2026 election cycle: Civics education, voter resources, community events.

I will send out more information, including the Zoom links, as soon as I have dates and times.  

Thank you for being Nevadans with me,

Sondra

Vote Nevada is now qualified to receive donations through
Smith’s Inspiring Donations; you can read more about how to donate to Vote Nevada each time you use your Smith’s loyalty card here https://www.smithsfoodanddrug.com/i/community/smiths-inspiring-donations

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. You can now donate to Vote Nevada through
PayPal at  https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=L423L7FBMMBEA