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By Dana R. Bennett
Principal Research Analyst
Legislative Counsel Bureau
PROHIBITION OF ALCOHOL ON ELECTION DAY
Numerous laws throughout the older statutes, beginning in 1869, made the sale or provision of alcoholic beverages on election day illegal.
Just before the turn of the century, the prohibition was expanded to prohibit the use of bars and saloons during a campaign. In 1895, the Legislature passed the first comprehensive campaign reform measure, commonly called "The Purity of Elections Law" which included a section prohibiting the use of facilities where alcohol was sold or provided. Alfred Doten noted in his journal that the subsequent campaign in Virginia City was, as a result, "dull."
When Chapter 293 of NRS was established in 1960, the sale or provision of intoxicating beverages on election day was still illegal, although only during the hours when the polls were open. The pertinent provision, NRS 293.605, was finally repealed in 1967.
PEOPLE CURRENTLY PROHIBITED FROM VOTING IN NEVADA
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Non-citizens of the United States;
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People who have resided in Nevada less than 6 months;
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Traitors;
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Felons;
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Idiots; and
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Insane people. (Art. II, § I)
PEOPLE PREVIOUSLY PROHIBITED FROM VOTING IN NEVADA
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African-American men; until 1870, when the national constitution was amended.
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Mormon men under a statute approved in 1887; until 1888, when the statute was declared unconstitutional by the Nevada Supreme Court. It appears that the statute was not repealed until 1909.
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Men who did not pay the $4 poll tax; until 1910, when the state constitution was amended. When the original poll tax provision was debated during the writing of Nevada's constitution, an objection was made to it. Another responded that, if any voter was so poor that he could not afford to pay the tax, there were "always plenty of politicians to pay it for him the days before election, so that he should be recorded as a voter."
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Women; until 1914, when the state constitution was amended.
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Men who voluntarily fought against the Union or held a Confederate office; until 1914, when the state constitution was amended.
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Native American people; until 1924, when Congress granted citizenship and universal suffrage to all Native Americans.
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People between the ages of 18 and 21; until 1971, when the national constitution was amended.
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People who had participated, in any manner, in a duel; until 1978, when the state constitution was amended.
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