Document Type

Case Summary

Publication Date

7-23-2022

Case Synopsis

In an opinion drafted by Justice Stiglich, the Court considered whether initiative sponsors may withdraw a petition or whether an initiative petition’s signatories or the public acquire any rights in a petition. This appeal involves two verified initiative petitions to place questions on the ballot for the Nevada 2022 general election and the sponsors' withdrawal of the initiative petitions. Although Nevada law provides a procedure to withdraw an initiative petition and directs that “no further action may be taken on [a withdrawn] petition,”2 Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske refused to honor the withdrawals of the two petitions at issue here. The sponsors then sought and obtained writs of mandamus and prohibition from the district court to compel her to recognize the withdrawals and thereby prevent the questions from appearing on the 2022 ballot. The Secretary of State appealed, arguing that the statute setting forth the withdrawal procedure, NRS 295.026, is unconstitutional. The Court concluded that NRS 295.026 is a permissible exercise of the Legislature's power to enact statutes to facilitate the people's initiative power and is thus not unconstitutional, finding that the district court abused its discretion in issuing a writ of prohibition.

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