Opinion ID: 2630289
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Procedural history of the initiatives' challenges

Text: The LVCVA filed in the district court a declaratory relief action challenging the Education Enhancement Act and the Funding Nevada's Priorities Act. Clark County and the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Mesquite, Henderson, and Boulder City (the local governments) filed a separate declaratory relief action challenging the two initiatives. The two actions were consolidated. Following briefing and oral argument, the district court ruled in favor of the proponents, refusing to invalidate the initiatives. The district court also concluded that, while the local governments could not campaign for or against the initiatives, they could maintain the declaratory relief actions. The LVCVA appealed, and its appeal was docketed as No. 51509. The local governments also appealed; their appeal was docketed as No. 51564. The proponents cross-appealed in both cases, challenging the portion of the district court's ruling that permitted the local governments to maintain the actions. Similarly, opponents of the Nevada Taxpayers Protection Act, the nonprofit organizations Nevadans for Nevada and Nevada State Education Association, challenged that initiative's description of effect in the district court. The district court declared that the initiative petition's description of effect was valid and denied the initiative's opponents relief. The initiative's opponents then appealed; their appeal was docketed as No. 51639. While the appeals were in briefing, the Secretary of State determined that the circulators' affidavits for all three initiatives were defective. In particular, none of the affidavits set forth the number of signatures on the document or a statement that each signer had an opportunity to read the full text of the initiative before signing, as required under NRS 295.0575. The Secretary of State found that the affidavits were defective and that no signatures collected by circulators with defective affidavits could be counted. Since all of the affidavits shared the same defects, the county clerks all returned verification results showing that no valid signatures for any of the initiatives had been collected. The proponents appealed the county clerks' results, essentially seeking reconsideration of the Secretary of State's decision to instruct the clerks not to count signatures with defective affidavits. The appeal was denied, and the proponents then filed a petition seeking various forms of relief in the district court. The proponents asserted that, in preparing the affidavits, they relied on a publication prepared by the Secretary of State entitled, The 2008 Initiative and Referendum Guide (the Initiative Guide), which contained an affidavit form identical to that set forth in NAC 293.182 in its appendix. The version of the Initiative Guide relied upon by the proponents indicates that it was last revised on August 28, 2007. Notably, the Initiative Guide's preface and the introductory page for its appendix both warned that the material in the Initiative Guide might not contain the most recent updates and that the statutes and other governing law should be checked. The preface stated, in pertinent part with the emphasis in the original, The purpose of this booklet is to provide an understanding of the guidelines and requirements necessary for preparing and qualifying initiatives and referenda for the ballot. It is important to note that this guide is for general information only and does not have the force and effect of Nevada law, regulation or rule. Interested citizens should obtain the most recent version of the Nevada Revised Statutes, as Nevada's Election Laws are amended each legislative session. The introductory page for the Initiative Guide's appendix, containing forms and copies of election statutes and regulations, stated, The enclosed sections of the NRS do not reflect revisions made by the Nevada Legislature at its 2007 session as those revisions were not codified at the time this guide was published. Please check with the Legislative Counsel Bureau for the most recent version of the NRS. Despite these warnings, the proponents did not review the pertinent statutes in NRS Chapter 295, particularly NRS 295.0575, and did not review the affidavit form set forth in NAC 295.020, which applies specifically to petitions for initiatives or referenda. The proponents stated that their circulators had copies of the initiatives as part of their documentation, but they did not indicate that the circulators were made aware that they should offer the opportunity to review the text to those signing the petitions. They were also apparently not informed that they should count the number of signatures that they obtained. After a hearing, the district court issued its ruling upholding the Secretary of State's decision. The district court agreed with the proponents that the circulators' affidavit statute requires only substantial, not strict, compliance, but it held that the affidavits failed to meet even the more lenient standard. The district court further found that the affidavits could not be corrected, since the circulators could not swear that they had provided an opportunity to signers to review a measure's text when they had not been made aware of the requirement that they do so. The district court also rejected the proponents' constitutional arguments, holding that the restriction implicit in the statute was permissible under United States Supreme Court precedent, that the statute took precedence over any regulation, and that the inaccuracies in the Initiative Guide prepared by the Secretary of State did not render the statute unenforceable. The proponents' appeal in Docket No. 52045 followed. It was consolidated with the other pending appeals and cross-appeals involving the three initiatives, and the matters were expedited.