“You can love Nevada without living there. But you shouldn’t vote there.”
— Ken Cuccinelli, National Chairman, Election Transparency Initiative
ETI: Nevada Lawsuit Raises a Simple Question: Should People Who Never Lived In Nevada Vote There?
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | LINK
Arlington, VA — July 10, 2026 — The Election Transparency Initiative (ETI) today said a lawsuit challenging a Nevada election law raises a simple constitutional question with broad public support: Should people who have never lived in Nevada be permitted to vote in Nevada elections?
The Republican National Committee, the Nevada Republican Party, and Republican nominee for Secretary of State Jim Marchant have filed suit in Nevada’s First Judicial District Court against Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, the Nevada State Democratic Party, and the Democratic National Committee. The lawsuit challenges a provision of Nevada law that allows certain U.S. citizens born abroad who have never resided in Nevada to register and vote based solely on a parent’s or legal guardian’s last Nevada residence, provided they have not registered to vote in another state. The plaintiffs ask the court to declare that provision unconstitutional, prohibit future registrations under it, cancel registrations made under it, and require Nevada’s election guidance to be updated accordingly.
The challenged law was enacted in 2011 as part of Nevada’s implementation of the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act (UOCAVA). ETI emphasized that the lawsuit does not challenge the voting rights of military personnel or overseas citizens who previously established residency in Nevada before moving abroad. Rather, it challenges extending voting eligibility to individuals who have never resided in Nevada.
Article 2, Section 1 of the Nevada Constitution provides that eligible voters must have “actually, and not constructively, resided in the state six months” before an election. The lawsuit argues that the challenged statute conflicts with that constitutional requirement by allowing voting eligibility to flow from a parent’s residency rather than the voter’s own.
“You can love Nevada without living there. But you shouldn’t vote there,” said ETI National Chairman Ken Cuccinelli. “People who have never lived in Nevada shouldn’t be deciding Nevada’s future. Nevada’s Constitution requires voters to have ‘actually…resided in the state.’ Those words were placed in Nevada’s Constitution for a reason, and they should be enforced.”
The complaint draws an important distinction between qualified Nevada voters living overseas and individuals who have never established residency in the state. As the plaintiffs write, “Nevada may extend registration and absentee voting procedures to qualified Nevada voters abroad, including military and overseas citizens who previously resided in Nevada and remain Nevada domiciliaries for voting purposes. But Nevada may not create bona fide Nevada voters out of individuals who have never resided in Nevada, solely by reference to a parent’s historical voting eligibility.” The complaint further states, “Residency is not inherited and cannot be established by proxy.”
“This case is not about whether Americans living overseas should be able to vote,” Cuccinelli added. “They absolutely should—when they are voting in the state where they actually established residency before moving abroad. The question here is different: Should someone who has never lived in Nevada be treated as a Nevada voter simply because a parent once lived there? Nevada’s Constitution answers that question.”
“Election integrity begins with following the Constitution as written,” Cuccinelli concluded. “Nevadans deserve elections decided by Nevadans.”
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About the Election Transparency Initiative
The Election Transparency Initiative (ETI) was established as a partnership between the American Principles Project (APP) and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. ETI works nationwide to advance commonsense election reforms that protect the integrity of the vote and strengthen public trust in election outcomes through policies that enhance transparency, accountability, and confidence in American elections. ETI is chaired by Ken Cuccinelli, who previously served as Acting Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and as Attorney General of Virginia.
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