October 7, 2016

Marc E. Elias
MElias@perkinscoie.com
D. +1.202.654.6200
F. +1.202.654.9126

BY FAX, E-MAIL, AND U.S. MAIL

Secretary of State Barbara K. Cegavske
Nevada State Capitol
101 N. Carson Street, Suite 3
Carson City, NV 89701-3714
Fax: (775) 684-5718
nvelect@sos.nv.gov
Re:

Notice of NVRA Violation

Dear Secretary Cegavske:

We write on behalf of our client the Nevada State Democratic Party to notify you that Nevadas
voter registration deadline for mail registrations violates federal law because it falls too far out
from Election Day (November 8, 2016) to comply with the National Voter Registration Act of
1993 (NVRA). In order to comply with federal law and avoid infringing on the Constitutional
rights of Nevada voters, the state must accept voter registration applications submitted by mail
that are postmarked as late as Tuesday, October 11, 2016.
The NVRA requires states to accept voter registration applications submitted by mail if the
valid voter registration form of the applicant is postmarked not later than the lesser of 30 days, or
the period provided by State law, before the date of the election. (52 U.S.C.
20507(a)(1)(B)). Nevadas deadline for registration by mail is Saturday, October 831 days
before the election. The 30th day before the election falls on Sunday, October 9, which is a
postal holiday. The following day, Monday, October 10, is Columbus Day, and is also a postal
holiday. As a result, the first possible day to postmark a voter registration application that is not
later than 30 days before Election Day, and therefore compliant with the NVRA, is Tuesday,
October 11, 2016.
Nevada accepts in-person and online voter registration applications through October 18. This,
however, is not a suitable substitute for registration by mail. Many Nevadans live far from a
County Clerk or Registrar. In-person registration is not an option for these individuals. Further,
many Nevadans do not have ready access to the Internet or may not possess the Nevada ID
required for online registration. The availability of alternate forms of registrationparticularly
ones available only to certain segments of the populationdoes not bring Nevada into
compliance with the NVRAs requirement that a state must make registration by mail available
until at least 30 days before an election.

Secretary of State Barbara K. Cegavske

October 7, 2016
Page 2
Moreover, it is clear that the state does not need to impose a deadline of October 8 in order to
administer its elections properly. The fact that Nevada allows online and in-person registration
for some Nevada citizens until October 18 indicates that election administrators at the state and
county level are able to process registrations submitted after the October 8 deadline in time for
the upcoming general election.
As you may be aware, U.S. Senators Charles E. Schumer and Patrick Leahy have requested that
the U.S. Department of Justice enforce this provision of the NVRA against an number of
states. Nevada is one of ten states cited in the Senators letter. We understand that some states
cited in the letter, including Utah, Washington, and Arkansas, have corrected or begun
correcting their registration deadlines in recent days. We urge you to take similar action. If this
arbitrary and illegal deadline results in the disenfranchisement of even a single Nevada voter, it
will not only violate the NVRA, but also violate the Constitutional rights of Nevadans. If
Nevada fails to extend the deadline voluntarily, it risks subjecting itself to legal action by the
Nevada State Democratic Party and others to ensure that federal law is enforced and the
fundamental right to vote is upheld in the state of Nevada. Accordingly, counties should be
instructed to retain and segregate applications received with a postmark through October 11th so
those applications can be promptly processed and those voters are able to vote in November.
Please advise us immediately of the steps you intend to take to remedy this violation of the
NVRA.
Very truly yours,

Marc E. Elias
Counsel to the Nevada State Democratic Party