Nev. Admin. Code § 293.202 - County clerks required to submit written contingency plans to Secretary of State; review and update of plans; briefing to staff regarding plans

1. Each county clerk shall, not later than 60 days before the date of any election, submit to the Secretary of State for approval a written contingency plan that describes the procedures that will be used in the event that election operations, including, without limitation, mechanical voting systems and any components thereof, are significantly disrupted.

2. The plan required by subsection 1 must, without limitation:

(a) Consider all potential sources of disruption to election operations, including, without limitation:

(1) Systemic equipment failures or malfunctions;

(2) Power outages;

(3) Natural disasters or infrastructure failure;

(4) Threats of terrorism or other civil disturbances; and

(5) Unauthorized access, intrusion or hacking into election facilities or equipment; and

(b) Explain how the county clerk will ensure continuity in voting if one or more polling places become temporarily or permanently unusable during the period for early voting or on the day of the election, which may include, without limitation:

(1) Sending voters to an alternative polling place;

(2) Seeking a court order to extend voting hours; or

(3) Requesting that voters return to the polling place after the disruption has been resolved.

3. In addition to the written contingency plan required by subsection 1, each county clerk shall submit to the Secretary of State for approval a written contingency plan for the tabulation of ballots in the event that the county experiences a loss of the central counting equipment or the use of the central counting place. If the county clerk invokes this contingency plan, the county clerk must notify the Secretary of State in writing not later than 12 hours after doing so. The plan:

(a) Must, without limitation, identify alternative counting equipment and facilities; and

(b) May provide for the transport of ballots across county lines for the purpose of ballot tabulation if the ballots are inventoried and can be safeguarded by election staff and election board officers in the same manner as the ballots would be protected if the ballots were not transported.

4. Before each election, the county clerk shall:

(a) Review the existing contingency plans required by subsections 1 and 3, except as otherwise provided in subsection 5, submit the updated plans to the Secretary of State; and

(b) Ensure that any election staff in the office of the county clerk and all other relevant county employees have been briefed on the contingency plans.

5. If no changes are being made to the contingency plans required by subsections 1 and 3, the county clerk may resubmit the plans for a subsequent election. If the county clerk resubmits the plans, the county clerk must indicate that fact on a form prescribed by the Secretary of State.

6. The Secretary of State will review each plan submitted pursuant to this section and, not later than 15 days after a plan is submitted, notify the county clerk whether the plan complies with the requirements of this section.

Notes

Nev. Admin. Code § 293.202

Added to NAC by Sec'y of State by R091-21A, eff. 2/28/2022; A by R008-23A, eff. 9/18/2023; A by R106-23A, eff. 2/20/2024

NRS 293.124, 293.247