(The Center Square) – Voter ID requirements are back on the ballot in Nevada this November.
The voter ID measure was previously approved 73% to 27% in 2024, but because it’s a constitutional amendment, voters will have to pass it one more time this year before it takes effect. Opponents have said the move is aimed at the non-issue of voter fraud. They further contend the requirements would disenfranchise minority groups, while proponents say it would curb voter fraud and increase election confidence.
Question 7 on this year’s ballot, the Require Voter Identification Initiative, asks voters to amend the state constitution and require voters present photo ID at the polling station, or the last four digits of either their driver’s license or Social Security number when voting by mail.
The issue has gained attention within Nevada over recent years as fears of voter fraud have grown, but opponents of Question 7 point to repeated investigations that show there’s nearly no voter fraud in the Silver State.
Gov. Joe Lombardo, the Republican running for reelection against Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford, has been a driving force behind the effort to introduce voter ID in the state for years. During the 2025 legislative session, he vetoed a bill to introduce voter ID because it would have allowed for looser verification requirements for mail voters.
Proponents of voter ID requirements have argued the move is a no-nonsense, common solution to fraud that would reduce concerns.
“Dozens of states across the country use voter ID laws to secure their elections and most Nevadans from all walks of life support passing one in our state,” read Lombardo’s campaign website. “Governor Lombardo supports a voter ID law that will protect Nevada’s elections from potential improprieties.”
Across the country, 36 states have adopted a voter ID law, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Lombardo’s office did not respond to questions from The Center Square on this issue.
But opponents to the amendment argued voter ID has been misrepresented to Nevadans.
“It’s been sold based on the broader brush strokes without getting into the fine points,” said Barbara Wells, president of the League of Women Voters of Nevada.
“We’re looking at something that is likely to impact very heavily, historically marginalized populations,” Wells told The Center Square. “This will include, for instance, racial and ethnic minorities, low-income individuals, those with disabilities, the unhoused, and even younger adults and transgender people.”
Wells said minority groups are the least likely to carry ID,and that married women and transgender people are most likely to change their name and potentially face issues with inaccurate IDs. She also questioned the safety of voters including part of their Social Security numbers on mail ballots.
“We believe that adding an extra barrier would actually harm our communities,” said Gerald Mayes, executive director for the Las Vegas branch of the NAACP.
“I don’t think there’s a need for an added barrier for our rights to vote – especially in a state that has safe elections already,” Mayes told The Center Square.
Nevada ranked second-highest in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Election Performance Index for the 2024 election.
A June 2026 poll conducted by The Terrance Group of 600 likely-to-vote Nevadans found 76% were somewhat or very confident the 2026 election would be counted accurately, while 23% said they were not confident.
Opponents to the amendment have also questioned whether it would represent a poll tax – which is any fee required to vote – on the grounds that a driver’s license or ID in Nevada has a fee from the Department of Motor Vehicles.
The Secretary of State’s office did not respond to The Center Square’s question on whether voter ID would represent a poll tax. The office also did not give any estimated cost for the amendment’s implementation.
Poll taxes were made unconstutional in the U.S. during the Civil Rights Movement with the passage of the 24th Amendment, although it only applies to federal elections, according to the the National Constitution Center.
The Nevada Supreme Court previously shot down a challenge to the voter ID, which was based on concerns of its potential as a poll tax. But the challenge, which came as the measure was not yet on the ballot, was allowed to continue because it was ruled too early in the process to judge whether it would represent a poll tax, according to the Nevada Independent.
The voter ID amendment does not include any plan to make IDs free in Nevada.
The office of Attorney General Ford did not respond to a request for comment by The Center Square for this story.
Ford has previously opposed the implementation of a voter ID requirement. He has said he would not support the move without a clear reason.
Still, questions of voter integrity continue to swirl around Nevada. Earlier this month, the Trump administration said it found evidence of widespread noncitizen voting in the state and called for action on the state’s voter rolls.
Nevada has since said the Trump administration list was incorrectly made up of U.S. citizens, according to the New York Times.
“Voting is a right we all have in this society to choose our leaders,” said Wells. “To deliberately disfranchise anyone who can vote from voting is both illegal and unconstitutional.”
