Scored Maps from the Redistricting Report Card

Communities of Interest

Check out Communities of Interest collected in this state on Representable

Learn about Communities of Interest in this state

Census-related Redistricting Timeline Delays

Process

State Legislature

Nevada's state legislative and congressional districts are drawn by the Legislature by ordinary statute, and are subject to the Governor's veto, which the Legislature cannot override.

Criteria

In addition to the federal requirements of one person, one vote and the Voting Rights Act, Nevada’s state constitution (Art. IV § 5) requires that state legislative districts respect county boundaries. In 2011, a Nevada state court issued additional criteria for the special masters drawing both state legislative and congressional districts, ordering them to consider contiguity, political subdivisions, communities of interest, compactness, and avoiding pairing incumbents.

In 2019, Nevada passed AB 450, ending the practice of prison gerrymandering and reassigning currently incarcerated populations to their last-known place of residence for the purpose of redistricting.

Public Input

The Nevada legislature has released its 2020 redistricting website, where the public can find relevant information and maps.

In the last redistricting cycle, legislative rules required the redistricting committees to seek “the widest range of public input.” This includes providing opportunities for any member of the public to present redistricting plans, and holding hearings in rural and southern portions of the state. The committees held hearings between March 10 and April 2, 2011.

Issues

Pitfalls

Nevada's state government is currently under a Democratic trifecta. This means that Democrats have single-party control over redistricting, which increases the risk of partisan and racial gerrymandering.

Potential Reform

The Legislature is currently considering a constitutional amendment to create a bipartisan redistricting commission. The bill is the same as the ballot initiative filed by Fair Maps Nevada in 2019 and 2020. With the challenges of signature-gathering during the public health crisis, the initiative had only received twelve percent of the required signatures before the deadline, despite being granted an extension in Fair Maps Nevada v. Cegavske.

• This amendment would create a seven-member independent redistricting commission and require a redrawing of the district map in 2023. Four of the members would be appointed by the four legislative leaders, and those four would then choose three commissioners unaffiliated with either major party. Final approval of maps would require five votes, with at least one vote per partisan category.
• The commission would be required to hold public meetings and ensure ample opportunity for public participation, including presenting testimony. All the commission's materials would be public record. Prior to voting on a plan, the commission would make the proposed plan public and allow sufficient time for public review and comment.
• The amendment would also enshrine redistricting criteria into the state constitution, ranked in order of priority. The criteria begins with compliance with federal law, equal population between districts, and contiguity. Next, districts would be prohibited from denying or abridging the voting rights of racial and language minorities and giving undue partisan advantage or disadvantage on a statewide basis. Then, districts would have to reflect political boundaries and communities of interest, and be reasonably compact. Lastly, the criteria would require districts that are competitive.

Actions

In 2021, participate in the Legislature’s public input process.

• Obtain Nevada redistricting data from OpenPrecincts.
• Start to plan out what defines your community – whether it’s a shared economic interest, school districts, or other social or other cultural, historical, or economic interests – and how that can be represented on a map. This will come in handy once the Legislature starts collecting feedback.
• Use software tools such as Dave's Redistricting App and Districtr to draw district maps showing either (a) what a fair map would look like, or (b) where the community you believe should be better represented is located.

Contacts

League of Women Voters of Nevada

Fair Maps Nevada

Nevadans for Election Reform

Sources

All About Redistricting

NCSL

Ballotpedia