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AB 499

Revises provisions relating to elections. (BDR 24-998)

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Steve Yeager

AB 499 would create a statewide online voter services portal, streamline DMV-data sharing to update rolls, and allow signature cures using voluntary ID on mail envelopes.

Vetoed by the Governor.
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WeVote Research Nonpartisan
Bill Summary · AB 499

AB 499 (BDR 24‑998) — Summary (Elections bill, 2025 session)

Status: Vetoed by the Governor (veto issued 2025‑06‑12)
Introduced: February 10, 2025
Primary sponsor/author: Assemblymember Steve Yeager

Note: The bill package reviewed contained an unrelated Legislative Counsel digest about a California health program; this summary focuses on AB 499 as filed in Nevada to revise election procedures.

Purpose / intent

AB 499 sought to modernize and standardize voter services, improve the accuracy of voter rolls through more frequent DMV data sharing, streamline the mail‑ballot signature‑curing process, and require QR/machine‑readable links on mailed election materials to online voter services.

Key provisions (as introduced and in major amendments)

  • Voter services portal

    • Require the Secretary of State (initially county clerks in earlier drafts; amended to SOS) to establish and maintain a statewide online voter services portal allowing voters to: review registration, print update forms, view sample ballots, and find polling/dropbox locations.
    • Require communications to voters (including mail ballot envelopes) to include a QR code or other machine‑readable code linking to the portal.

  • DMV data sharing and voter‑roll updates

    • Require the Department of Motor Vehicles to regularly transmit specified DMV records to the Secretary of State (earlier drafts sent to county clerks). Data lists evolved in amendments — key items include name, address, driver’s license/ID number, and (as amended) the last four digits of the Social Security number. Some sensitive fields (photo, birthplace, height/weight) were removed in amendments.
    • Require matching and updating of the statewide voter registration database with DMV data; the shared DMV data is designated confidential and not public record.

  • Mail‑ballot envelope information and signature curing

    • Require return envelopes to include a voluntary space where voters may write identifying information (last 4 of DL, last 4 SSN, or voter ID).
    • If that identifying data is provided and verified by the clerk as accurate, the ballot may be accepted without a signature match.
    • Clerks must provide telephone availability (including evenings/weekends, until at least 7 p.m.) during the signature‑curing period and may allow voters to cure or confirm signatures by email or text. Smaller counties may contract for text‑message programs.

  • Additional items added in later amendments (Senate Amendment No. 1000 / reprints)

    • Provisions relating to photo ID for in‑person voting, issuance of free IDs/digital IDs, requirements for additional mail‑dropbox locations and monitoring/security standards, and appropriations to support some changes.

Who would be affected

  • Voters: simplified online services; new voluntary options for ID info on envelopes; potential new photo‑ID requirements (per later amendments).
  • County clerks/registrars and the Secretary of State: new operational duties (portal, matching/updating rolls, extended phone coverage, signature‑curing procedures).
  • DMV: regular electronic data transmissions and coordination with SOS.
  • Local governments: potential fiscal impacts and unfunded mandates, especially for smaller/rural counties.

Fiscal & procedural notes

  • Fiscal committees found potential state and local fiscal impacts; the measure was identified as containing unfunded mandates in several versions.
  • The bill advanced through multiple committee hearings and underwent several substantial amendments (including Amendments 386 and 1000). It passed the Legislature (final passage recorded in spring/early summer 2025) but was vetoed by the Governor on June 12, 2025.

Stakeholder positions / concerns

  • Supporters argued the bill modernized voter services, reduced signature‑cure delays, and improved roll accuracy.
  • Opponents raised privacy and security concerns (propagation of personally identifiable information, risks of electronic transfers, exposure of last‑4 SSN), argued the bill could enable non‑citizen registrations if citizenship verification is not airtight, and objected to unfunded mandates on counties.

For further detail, review the text of the enrolled/reprinted versions and amendment summaries (Amendments 386 and 1000), which show how key provisions evolved during floor and committee action.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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