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Wednesday, Mar. 8, 2023

Did Nevada propose a law requiring polling places in jails?

Austin Tannenbaum, The Nevada Independent
yes

A bill introduced in the Nevada Legislature on Feb. 15 would require each city and county jail in Nevada to establish an internal polling place, where prisoners authorized to vote in Nevada could vote in primary and general elections.

The bill clarifies that prisoners convicted of a felony who have not had their voting rights restored would remain ineligible to vote. Under Nevada law, incarcerated felons are ineligible to vote, but their right to vote is restored following their release. Nevada is one of 21 states to automatically restore voting rights when a prisoner is released.

Prisoners detained pretrial and those convicted of misdemeanors retain the right to vote and may cast an absentee ballot. However, due to logistical hurdles and lack of awareness, few do.

The Prison Policy Initiative identified seven jails nationwide that make in-person voting available in a report published last October.

See a full discussion of this at The Nevada Independent

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The Nevada Independent is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news and opinion website founded in 2017 by veteran political journalist and commentator Jon Ralston. The site and its supporting channels are focused on ethical, unbiased and transparent journalism. In general, we aim to gather and disseminate important public information and increase civic engagement. We are supported by corporate donations, memberships, event ticket sales and sponsorships and foundation grants. We disclose all our members and donors. Donors have no influence over our content, ever. The Nevada Independent is the dba for Nevada News Bureau, Inc., a 501(c)3 nonprofit founded in 2010 by Elizabeth Thompson, who now serves as one of The Nevada Independent's managing directors and its Editor.

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