Anything is possible in the Nevada Legislature — including a bipartisan bill on the politicized issue of mail ballots.

The top Democrat and Republican in the Assembly are joining forces on a bill that would require all sample ballots to be sent to voters before mail ballots are distributed. An amendment also would provide a clearer timeline for when mail ballots must be sent to voters.

Assembly Minority Leader Gregory Hafen (R-Pahrump) is the lead sponsor of AB148, and on Tuesday, Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager (D-Las Vegas) joined as a sponsor. The bill was heard Tuesday in the Assembly Committee on Legislative Operations and Elections, where it was supported by the Nevada Republican Party and progressive groups such as Silver State Voices and All Voting is Local.

Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, a Democrat, also supports the bill.

Mail ballots are among the most politically fraught topics in the Legislature, as Republicans have long opposed universal mail ballots and the counting of certain mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day but received after. Democrats, meanwhile, have led efforts to protect existing mail ballot laws largely adopted during the COVID pandemic.

“This may be the only mail-in ballot bill that we agree on,” Yeager said in an interview before the bill hearing. “But we’ll take the win for the day and see what else comes up.”

Under AB148, all mail ballots must be distributed to voters living in Nevada between the fourth and fifth Monday before an election. Existing law requires that mail ballots be distributed to in-state residents no later than 20 days before an election, but in practice, county election officials send mail ballots out over a wider time range before an election.

“There is nothing in statute that would prevent them from sending [mail ballots] in July after the primary’s over,” Hafen told reporters Tuesday. “To me, that would be concerning.”

The bill would also set an earlier deadline for local election officials to send out sample ballots.

Nevada law requires that sample ballots be sent before the start of early voting, which is the third Saturday before a general election. But under AB148, sample ballots must be sent out by the last day that mail ballots can be sent, which would be five days earlier than the current sample ballot requirement.

The bill sponsors said they will also look into changing the timeline to send ballots to out-of-state voters.

In the 2024 general election, some Nevadans reported not receiving their sample ballots at all.

Hafen said some of his constituents were confused after receiving their sample ballots after their mail ballots last year.

“They thought their mail ballot was their sample ballot,” Hafen said. “We’ve got to streamline the process.”

Bipartisan agreement may be difficult to find on other election law changes. Republican lawmakers have introduced bills rolling back several mail voting provisions, although they have little chance of passing in a Democrat-controlled Legislature. 

Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, has also supported stopping mail ballot counting after Election Day, and he said during his State of the State address this year that he would be willing to take the issue to voters if the proposal — as expected — fails to win over the Democratic majority in the Legislature.

But it’s a different story for AB148.

“Surprise, surprise, I’m here supporting something,” said Lynn Chapman, vice president of Nevada Families for Freedom, a conservative group that is a frequent critic of mail ballot laws. “It’s important to have a sample ballot come out first.”

Hafen said that the bill has the support of groups, such as the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada, that typically do not support his election-related proposals.

“It’s no-brainer, common sense,” Hafen said.