Bipartisan Deals on Voting and Election Changes Are Rare. It Just Happened in one Swing State

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Facing a legislature dominated by Democrats, Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo stood before Nevada lawmakers earlier this year with a message that some did not expect to go far: “Set aside partisan politics.”

It was a plea that might have seemed more aspirational than realistic, given the country’s deep polarization. Yet it set the stage for one of the session’s most unexpected outcomes — a bipartisan agreement to bring voter ID requirements to the perennial battleground state by next year’s midterm elections.

In a deal that came together in the waning days of the session, the Democratic-controlled Legislature approved a bill that combined a requirement for voter ID — a conservative priority across the country and something that has been on Lombardo’s legislative wish list — with a Democratic-backed measure to add more drop boxes for mailed ballots in the state’s most populous counties.

Lombardo is expected to sign the bill.

The compromise represents a form of bipartisan dealmaking that has been especially scarce in recent years as the country’s political divisions have deepened, especially around any potential reform to voting and election laws.

President Donald Trump’s lies about his loss in the 2020 presidential election fueled a wave of restrictive voting laws in Republican-led states that Democrats countered with changes to make voting more accessible, while an executive order Trump signed earlier this year seeking to overhaul how elections are run was met with a wave of Democratic lawsuits. Election legislation has mostly hit a dead end in states where the parties share power, making Nevada’s bill all the more remarkable.

A requirement for voters to show photo identification at the polls has long been a nonstarter for Nevada Democrats, who have argued that it threatened to disenfranchise low-income voters and make it more difficult for people to vote, especially older voters, those with disabilities and those without driver’s licenses.

Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, the Democrat who brokered the deal with Lombardo after the governor vetoed his original bill to expand drop box access, acknowledged it was a tough concession. But he said it was the best they could do with the time they had left.

“If you told me at the beginning of the session that we would be passing a voter ID bill, I probably would have told you you’re crazy,” he said in an interview Wednesday. “But I think that highlights the importance of being open and receptive.”

It’s a stark contrast to the 2023 legislative session, the last time lawmakers met. Lombardo outlined voter ID as one of his main priorities, but Democrats in the statehouse refused to give the proposal a hearing.

The governor vowed he would take the issue directly to voters.

Last November, Nevada voters overwhelmingly approved the voter ID ballot initiative that Lombardo supported. Voters will have to pass it again in 2026 to amend the state constitution, and the requirement would then be in place for the 2028 presidential election.

Yeager said he was nervous about presenting the bill because he wasn’t sure how Democrats would receive it, but told his colleagues over the weekend that voters seemed poised to give their final approval to the measure. He argued that passing a voter ID law now would give the state a two-year head start on implementing the requirements, to get ready before the next presidential contest.

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, said he respects the will of the voters and will work with the governor and local election officials “to continue strengthening our elections.” That includes, under the proposal, a new — and free — digital form of voter ID that his office will be in charge of rolling out.

Polls have shown that most Americans support voter ID laws, and that has been consistent over the years and across party lines. A 2024 Gallup poll found 84% of Americans supported requiring all voters to provide photo ID at their voting place to cast a ballot, consistent with Gallup findings from 2022 and 2016. That includes about two-thirds of Democrats, according to the 2024 survey.

“This may not be my favorite policy to have to implement, but I think as a Legislature we have a responsibility to do this,” Yeager told his colleagues.

State Sen. Carrie Ann Buck, a Republican, praised the effort, saying, “I think this is very thoughtful and very courageous of you to bring this in a bipartisan way … I think our common goals are that every legitimate voter gets to vote.”

But not all Democrats were on board, with five voting against it when it passed the Senate.

“I recognize what you’re attempting to do, to stave off something worse,” said Democratic Sen. Dina Neal. But she said she was “wrestling with the philosophical issue with voter ID.”

“I’m not in the space where I am openly willing to disenfranchise a population who may not even understand this law as written.”

If Lombardo signs the bill, Nevada will join 36 other states that either require or request voters show ID when voting in person, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Not all states require photo ID, though. Some accept documents such as a bank statement, and some allow voters without ID to vote after signing an affidavit. A few states allow poll workers to vouch for voters without an ID.

Under Nevada’s bill, voters will be required to show a form of photo ID when voting in person, which will include government-issued IDs and Nevada-issued university student IDs.

“Nevada has some of the most secure and accessible elections in the country,” Yeager said when he introduced the legislation, “and this bill is a set of compromises between the Legislature and the governor that I believe can ensure that tradition continues.”

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Associated Press writers Christina A. Cassidy in Atlanta and Linley Sanders in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.