Nevada ranks dead last in election security study

Our state gets failing grade while other countries do better

By Brittany Sheehan  

Nevada News and Views

Picture this: You’re comparing Nevada’s election system to places like Kenya, Mexico, and Rwanda. Who do you think comes out on top? If you guessed those other countries, you’d be right. That’s the shocking news from a brand new study that looked at how 37 nations run their elections.

Nevada got the lowest score of any American state. We scored just 30 out of 100 points. That’s an F grade by any measure. Meanwhile, countries we might not expect are doing much better at protecting their elections.

What the Study Found About Nevada

The Meyers Report study looked at 17 different ways elections can go wrong. They checked things like voter ID rules, mail-in ballots, and voting machines. Nevada failed in most areas.

“The bottom states are Nevada (30), D.C. (36), Vermont (37), California (38), and Illinois (39) which all are failing grades,” said Gary Meyers, who led the study.

Think about that for a minute. Nevada scored worse than Washington D.C. We’re dead last among all 50 states and D.C.

The Big Problems in Nevada

The study found three main issues that hurt Nevada’s score badly.

First, we don’t require photo ID to vote. Most other countries do. The study shows 92 percent of other nations require some kind of photo ID. In the U.S., only 49 percent of states require photo ID. Nevada allows people to vote with just a utility bill or bank statement.

Second, Nevada allows unlimited mail-in ballots. The study found that 94 percent of other countries don’t allow widespread mail-in voting. When they do allow it, it’s only for people who are disabled or living overseas.

“The US is the only country that allows wide-spread unrestricted mail-in ballots for in-country voters,” said Jay Delancy, who helped write the study.

Third, Nevada allows ballot harvesting. That means other people can collect your mail-in ballot and turn it in for you. The study found no other country allows this practice.

Why This Matters to Conservatives

For conservatives who believe in limited government, election integrity is crucial. We can’t have limited government if we don’t trust our elections. When the rules are loose, it opens the door for problems.

The study’s authors say ballot harvesting brings back the same voter intimidation that the 1965 Voting Rights Act was supposed to stop.

Delancy explained:

“Now the voter intimidation occurs on the front porch or in nursing homes, instead at the polling station where it can be more easily detected and stopped.”

Mail-in ballots also create what experts call “chain of custody” problems. Once your ballot leaves your hands, who knows what happens to it before it gets counted?

What Critics Are Saying

Supporters of Nevada’s current system argue that our rules make voting easier for working families and people with disabilities. They say voter fraud is rare and that strict ID laws keep poor people from voting.

Some also question whether comparing the U.S. to other countries is fair. They point out that America has a more complex federal system than most nations.

The Bigger Picture

This isn’t just about Nevada. The study found America as a whole scored worse than every other region in the world. Our average score was 60 out of 100. Even that puts us behind countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

The top-scoring American states were Mississippi (83), Arkansas (78), and Kentucky (78). These states require photo ID and have tighter rules on mail-in voting.

Delancy said: “The US is supposed to be the shining beacon on the hill for democracy, yet we are the only country surveyed that uses the honor system in any election process of the countries surveyed.”

Voters Take Action on Question 7

On Election Day, 72 percent of voters approved Question 7, which would require photo ID to vote.

“This victory is a powerful message from Nevadans who believe that secure elections and transparent voter identification strengthen our democracy,” said David Gibbs, chairman of Repair the Vote PAC.

The measure would require people voting in person to show a current photo ID like a driver’s license or passport. People voting by mail would need to include the last four digits of their driver’s license or Social Security number.

But there’s a catch. Nevada requires constitutional changes to pass twice in different elections. So Question 7 will be on the ballot again in 2026. If it passes then, Nevada would finally join most other states in requiring voter ID.

This shows what happens when voters get fed up with poor election security. Nevada went from dead last in election integrity to potentially having some of the strongest voter ID rules in the country.

The bottom line is simple. Nevada voters want better election security. When countries like Kenya and Rwanda have more secure elections than we do, something is seriously wrong. Question 7 is a good first step toward fixing that problem.

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Brittany Sheehan is a Las Vegas-based mother, policy advocate and grassroots leader. She is active in local politics, successful in campaign work and passionate about liberty.