While multiple states have made headlines for ramming through maps dictating new boundaries for political races, Vote Nevada, a civic engagement nonprofit, aims to strip that power away from the state legislature, which can operate behind closed doors.
The proposed commission would consist of two Democrats and two Republicans, who would then agree on three additional individuals not registered with a major political party. They would have 180 days after the census is released to do redistricting of congressional and state legislative maps.
The current process is broken, said Sondra Cosgrove, executive director of Vote Nevada.
“The political parties are destroying our democracy,” Cosgrove said. “This whole fight between Texas and California is not about people, it’s about which party will control the government.”
Cosgrove said there’s nothing in Nevada that prohibits state lawmakers from mid-decade redistricting.
The Nevada maps drawn in 2021, under a Democratic governor and legislative majority, received an F for creating significant advantages for Democrats, according to the Princeton Gerrymandering Project.
This is Cosgrove’s fourth attempt to pass this ballot petition. Last year, it was struck down in court for creating a state-run group without a mechanism to pay for it.
Open-ish primaries, again?
This isn’t the only ballot petition Vote Nevada is working on. Despite recent unsuccessful efforts to open Nevada primary elections, the nonprofit is taking a different approach.
Vote Nevada’s second ballot petition so far would allow anyone to vote in a partisan primary election — regardless of their political affiliation. Currently, people can only vote for candidates from the same political party as their registration.
Ballot Question 3, which in part would have created open primary elections, failed during the 2025 general election. Additionally, during the 2025 Nevada legislative session, a top Democratic state lawmaker proposed a new law to allow nonpartisans to request to vote in partisan races during primaries, but Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed it. Currently, voters can change their registration the day they vote.
The ballot petition would add to the state constitution’s Voters’ Bill of Rights, ensuring people can participate in publicly funded elections without having to join a private organization, such as a political party. The Voters’ Bill of Rights states that voters can have the procedures explained, vote without being threatened or discriminated against due to race, disability, or military status, for example.
There are more people registered as nonpartisan than Democrats or Republicans in Nevada, according to the Secretary of State. Cosgrove wants to ensure everyone has the same opportunity regardless of whether they’re a member of a party or not.
“There is something that they dislike about the two parties that they do not want to be a member of the party,” Cosgrove said. “They’re taxpayers, they’re paying for the election. Why would you be singled out for having to jump through a hoop that other people aren't being required to?”
Both ballot petition initiatives have until Sept. 30 to be challenged in court. If they’re not, Vote Nevada will need to collect 160,000 signatures by June 26 to get it on the November ballot. Since the two measures would alter the state constitution, voters will need to approve them twice in back-to-back elections.
During the 2026 election, Nevadans will also need to decide whether to implement a new constitutional requirement to show identification to vote, via a separate ballot question.
