National Council of La Raza v. Miller (Nevada)

On June 11, 2012, Project Vote and its partners filed a Complaint against Secretary of State Ross Miller and Director of the department of Health & Human Services, Michael Willden in the U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada. The Complaint alleges that the state has systematically failed to comply with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA). Since its 1993 enactment, the NVRA has helped ensure that low-income residents receive an opportunity to register to vote by mandating that all public assistance agencies offer voter registration services.

Plaintiffs include the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Las Vegas Branch of the NAACP (Las Vegas NAACP), and Reno-Sparks Branch of the NAACP (Reno-Sparks NAACP), all of whom conduct voter registration activities in the state. They are represented by Demos, Project Vote, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the NAACP, and the law firms Woodburn and Wedge and Dechert LLP.

Specifically, the Complaint alleges that, based on Nevada’s own submissions to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the number of voter registration applications submitted at Nevada public assistance offices decreased by a staggering 95% in recent years, from 39,444 in 1999-2000 to just 1,677 in 2009-2010. This steep decline in voter registrations is particularly significant because it occurred during the same period that both the population of the state and the number of applicants for public assistance were increasing.

The factual allegations in the Complaint show that fault for this reduction lies with the state. The majority of clients seeking public assistance services are simply not being offered voter registration opportunities, and many public assistance agencies do not even have the voter registration forms available on request. Indeed, a recent survey of 51 individuals leaving public assistance offices showed that four of the five people who specifically requested in writing to register to vote were not given voter registration applications. As a result of the state’s failures, the Plaintiffs are forced to expend resources helping to register citizens who would otherwise be registered by the state.

A District Court judge dismissed Plaintiffs’ complaint on December 19, 2012, finding that the Plaintiffs did not have standing.

However, plaintiffs appealed to the Ninth Circuit, which reinstated the case in September 2015. The Ninth Circuit’s decision directed that the case be reassigned to a different district judge, finding that reassignment was necessary to “maintain the appearance of justice.”

On March 14, 2016, a settlement was reached between the plaintiffs and the Nevada Secretary of State and the Department of Health and Human Services, which includes a robust plan for ensuring that applicants are provided the voter registration services required by the NVRA.

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Nevada Officials Settle Voting-Rights Squabble

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Nevada agreed to improve its efforts to abide by the National Voter Registration Act NVRA to settle a federal lawsuit filed by Project Vote and our partners. Read more

Nevada settles US lawsuit on behalf of low-income voters

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The state of Nevada has agreed to new training and reporting requirements to settle a federal lawsuit accusing its public assistance offices of failing to do enough to help low-income clients register to vote. Read more

Nevada settles lawsuit over registering low-income voters

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Voting rights advocates and the state of Nevada settled a lawsuit today over the state’s implementation of a federal law aimed at registering low-income voters. Read more

Nevada officials settle lawsuit with voting rights advocates

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Nevada officials have settled a lawsuit with voting rights advocates over making voter registration materials available to low-income and disabled clients. Read more

Coalition Secures Settlement That Expands Voter Registration Opportunities Across Nevada

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Project Vote and partners reach a settlement with the State of Nevada to ensure low-income citizens are provided voter registration services through public assistance agencies. Read more

National Council of La Raza v. Miller: Settlement Agreement

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Settlement agreement in National Council of La Raza v. Miller Read more

National Council of La Raza v. Miller: Ninth Circuit Opinion

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Ninth Circuit opinion in National Council of La Raza v. Miller. Read more

Ninth Circuit Hands Victory to Voting Rights Groups in Public Assistance Voter Registration Case

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The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reinstated a case challenging the State of Nevada’s failure to provide voter registration to its low-income citizens. Read more

Voter Registration Law Helps Close Disparities in Voter Turnout

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A recent article in Bloomberg View highlights some of work conducted by Project Vote and our partners to further the implementation and goals of the NVRA. Read more

National Council of La Raza v Miller: District Court Order

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District court order dismissing National Council of La Raza v. Miller due to lack of standing. Read more