07/21/2026
Election Day Should Mean Election Day in Nevada
By Gov. Joe Lombardo
When Americans go to bed on Election Night, they should know the results of their elections. Across most of the country, they do. But in Nevada and a handful of other states, voters often wait days before final results are known. That delay creates confusion, fuels skepticism, and erodes confidence in the democratic process.
Restoring trust in elections shouldn’t be a partisan issue. Republicans, Democrats, and nonpartisan voters all want the same basic assurances: that voting is accessible, that every legal ballot is counted, and that election results are timely and transparent.
Nevada has worked hard to make voting easier, and frankly, that’s something we should be proud of. But accessibility must be matched with accountability. Voters deserve a system that is efficient and worthy of their trust. Simply put, it should be easy to vote and hard to cheat — and voters should know the outcome of elections without unnecessary delays.
Today, Nevada is one of the few states that continues accepting certain ballots days after Election Day. While election results are reported the same night across much of the country, Nevadans often watch as outcomes shift over several days while ballots continue to arrive and be counted.
That system was created during the COVID-19 pandemic, when states across the country adopted emergency policies to ensure voters could safely participate in elections. In Nevada, legislation passed in 2020 expanded universal mail ballots and allowed ballots without a postmark to be received and counted up to three days after Election Day.
While those policies may have been appropriate during a once-in-a-generation public health emergency, the pandemic is over. It’s well-past time to evaluate whether temporary measures should remain permanent. A recent Supreme Court decision makes clear that states have the authority to adopt different approaches to counting mail ballots, and I respect the Court’s ruling.
However, just because Nevada may continue accepting ballots after Election Day doesn’t mean it should. I believe Nevadans are best served by an election system that requires ballots to be received by Election Day and delivers timely, transparent results, while ensuring every legal vote is counted.
That’s why early in my administration I introduced the Election Integrity Act, legislation designed to modernize Nevada’s election process. The proposal would require ballots to be received by Election Day and streamline the counting process so results could be reported more quickly. The goal was simple: bring Nevada in line with election practices used successfully in many other states.
Unfortunately, Democrats in the Nevada legislature declined to consider the proposal, even going so far as to say it was “dead on arrival.” But thankfully, in our country, when elected officials fail to act, the people still can.
During my campaign for governor, I heard consistently from voters across Nevada that they wanted voter identification requirements at the polls. I asked the legislature to address the issue. When they chose not to, I took the question directly to the voters, just as I promised I would in my first State of the State address. Volunteers from across the political spectrum came together to collect signatures and qualify a voter ID measure for the ballot. In 2024, Nevada voters approved the proposal with more than 73 percent support — a clear signal that election integrity is not a partisan concern.
Under Nevada’s Constitution, the measure will appear again on the ballot in 2026. I am confident voters will once again support it and make voter identification a permanent part of Nevada law.
The success of the ballot initiative shows what is possible when voters are given the opportunity to speak for themselves, but I believe the best path forward is still cooperation. That’s why I’m calling on the Nevada legislature to join me in modernizing our election laws. Requiring ballots to be received by Election Day, improving efficiency in the counting process, and providing Nevadans with timely results are practical reforms that would strengthen confidence in our system, in addition to requiring voter ID.
If lawmakers refuse to act, I am prepared to work with voters once again to bring these reforms directly to the ballot. At the end of the day, this isn’t about partisanship. It’s about restoring confidence in the system that underpins our democracy.
Nevadans deserve elections that are fair, transparent, and trusted. And together, we can deliver just that.
