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The Governor of Nevada has officially vetoed a bipartisan voter ID bill that would have required photo identification for in-person voting.

Getting into it: Yesterday, Governor Joe Lombardo (R-NV) vetoed Assembly Bill 499, a measure that would have introduced a voter ID requirement for in-person voting in Nevada while expanding mail ballot drop box access across the state. Despite being a longtime supporter of voter ID laws, Lombardo rejected the bill, claiming it introduced inconsistencies between how mail-in and in-person votes would be verified.

He said, “I wholeheartedly support Voter ID and am appreciative of the effort to codify it into statute. However, this bill is not entirely consistent with the constitutional amendment that Nevada voters will consider again in 2026… AB 499 fails to resolve—and may even introduce— inconsistencies in how voter identification is reviewed, does little to improve signature verification and leaves too much ambiguity for future interpretation or regulation.” He added, “This inconsistency undermines the principle of uniform voter verification.”

The bill, introduced by Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D), was designed as a compromise between Democratic and Republican priorities. It would have required voters to present valid photo identification when voting in person. Those without an ID could cast a provisional ballot but would have been required to provide a valid photo ID by the end of the week. The legislation also ensured that the Nevada DMV and the Secretary of State’s office would provide free IDs to eligible voters experiencing financial hardship.

At the same time, AB 499 proposed an expansion of ballot drop boxes for mail-in voting — a provision that Lombardo had previously vetoed in a separate bill. For mail ballots, the bill continued the use of signature matching but also allowed election officials to verify ballots using additional identifying numbers, such as the last four digits of a voter’s driver’s license.

Criticism: Liz Luna, the incoming executive director of the Nevada Assembly Democratic Caucus, criticized the Governor, arguing that he “walked away from bipartisan compromise but also from the will of the people he claims to represent, thus elevating politics over people.”