Existing Nevada Voters Unaffected by SAVE Act; New Registrations Require Proof of Citizenship Instead of Current Requirement of Sworn Affidavit
Currently, for voter registration, Nevadans affirm U.S. citizenship by signing an affidavit under penalty of perjury on their registration form, with no requirement to present documentary proof of citizenship.
Under the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act (SAVE Act), that sworn statement alone would no longer suffice for federal elections. New applicants would need to provide actual documentary proof of citizenship—such as a U.S. passport, government-issued photo IDs showing U.S. place of birth, military records indicating U.S. birth, naturalization certificates, or similar documents. Currently registered Nevada voters would not be impacted; only new registrations would be affected.
Nevada’s current voter registration process is straightforward. Eligible residents must be U.S. citizens, 18 or older by Election Day, Nevada residents for at least 30 days in the county and 10 days in the precinct, not incarcerated for a felony, and not declared mentally incompetent by a court. Registration options include online (using a Nevada driver’s license or ID number), mail-in forms sent to county election offices, in-person at county offices or DMV locations, and automatic registration during many DMV transactions unless opted out. Same-day registration is available during early voting and on Election Day.
Nevada election officials report that noncitizen voting is extremely rare under the current system. Nevada has earned the lowest election integrity score among all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, according to an August 2025 Meyers Report on election laws and policies. The state scored just 30 out of 100 points, falling significantly below the U.S. average of 60 and the international average of 81. The report cited factors such as universal mail-in balloting, ballot harvesting, and post-election ballot rules as contributing to the low score.
Currently registered Nevada voters would not be impacted directly by the SAVE Act. Their existing registrations would remain valid, and they could continue voting in federal elections without providing new proof of citizenship, as long as no changes are made to their registration.
However, any future update—such as a new address, name change, or party switch—would require submitting documentary proof. With Nevada’s large number of movers and name changes among its more than two million active voters, many could eventually face this requirement. The bill also calls for ongoing use of federal databases to check and maintain voter rolls, which could increase scrutiny during routine purges.
