Nevadans overwhelmingly approved a ballot question to amend the state Constitution to require voter ID, moving the politically divisive practice one step closer to going into effect in the Silver State.

As the initial batch of election returns were released Tuesday evening, Question 7 far exceeded the 50 percent threshold matching limited polling that showed strong support for a voter ID requirement. Because the question seeks to amend the state Constitution, it must also receive support from a majority of voters in the 2026 general election.

The initiative would require all in-person voters in Nevada to present a valid photo identification — such as a driver’s license, passport, student ID card or concealed weapon permit — before voting. People voting by mail would have to include part of a personally identifiable number — such as their driver’s license or Social Security number — alongside their signature.

The question’s success represents a potentially significant change to Nevada’s elections and follows years of attempts by Republicans in Nevada to require voter ID. Legislative efforts to require voter ID date back to at least 2015, and a  bill pushed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo last year to require voter ID stalled in the Democrat-controlled Legislature.

Democrats have argued that a voter ID is unnecessary — given that ID is required to register to vote — and could disenfranchise voters who do not have a valid form of ID, though the question does allow people to use non-photo ID when voting by mail. Meanwhile, Republicans have said voter ID is a common sense measure to build trust and secure elections, even though voter impersonation is essentially nonexistent in the U.S.

Nevada is one of 14 states to not require a form of identification while voting, and instead relies on voters’ signatures to verify their identity. Nine states have enacted strict photo ID laws for voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

This is the second time that Repair the Vote — a group led by former Clark County GOP Chair David Gibbs — has tried to place a voter ID question on the Nevada ballot, after its 2022 effort failed to pass legal scrutiny.

This effort began after the group filed a petition with state election officials. Soon after, a group of well-known Democrat-linked attorneys sued to block the question on the grounds that its description of effect (a 200-word summary of the measure included on signature forms) failed to outline its full implications. They also argued that the measure would require a funding source without providing one, and that it was similar to an unconstitutional poll tax because most of the identification options require some kind of payment. 

A Carson City judge dismissed the lawsuit two months later — saying “probably time for voters of the state of Nevada to decide if they want this or not” — and the state Supreme Court upheld that ruling in April, determining that questions regarding a poll tax should not be addressed before the election.

The initiative qualified for the ballot in July after election officials verified 131,590 signatures, and it passed the threshold of signatures needed from each of the state’s four congressional districts (25,591).

Supporters of the effort have had a significant financial advantage.

Las Vegas Sands, whose largest shareholder is GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson, poured more than $1 million into the effort, and Repair the Vote raised $340,000 in the first nine months of this year.

Lombardo is also co-chairing a group called the Nevada Voter ID Coalition that raised $18,000 from July through September. Meanwhile, the PAC opposing the initiative — the Nevada Voter Freedom Alliance — raised just $500 during that same period.