We had hoped that, amidst a sea of restrictive voting initiatives across the country, Nevada would be a beacon of light. But today, with a stroke of Gov. Brian Sandoval’s pen, the Silver State jumped on the voter suppression bandwagon.
Right now in Nevada, if you’re convicted of a felony, good luck figuring out how to get your voting rights back. The state’s absurdly complicated and overly punitive voter disfranchisement law bars an estimated 43,000 people with felony convictions from voting. (Across the country, these laws keep more than 5 million people out of the political process.)
Ah, yes, Real ID—the federally mandated (and underfunded) de facto national identification program that raises serious concerns for civil libertarians everywhere. While some state governments have said "no thanks" to Real ID for numerous reasons, including its cost and its threats to privacy, Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons decided to ignore all of this and implement the program late last year.
Ah, yes, Real ID—the federally mandated (and underfunded) de facto national identification program that raises serious concerns for civil libertarians everywhere. While some state governments have said "no thanks" to Real ID for numerous reasons, including its cost and its threats to privacy, Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons decided to ignore all of this and implement the program late last year.