Nevada secretary of state speaks out against signature verification for ballots because 'young people don't have signatures'

Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar said Tuesday morning that a high number of ballots in the state's most populous counties have been rejected because of signature verification issues. To verify a ballot, Nevada matches the signature on a voter's mail-in ballot to their signature in the state's voting database. The secretary of state blamed the difficulty in validating ballots on young voters who no longer have signatures. Many states have removed cursive requirements from public school curricula over the past decade.

Aguilar said the issue has primarily affected mostly young voters in Clark and Washoe counties, two of the largest counties in the battleground state. Compared to 2020 and 2022, there is a significant increase in ballots this election cycle that had to be set aside to cure thus far. That figure is anticipated to increase as mail-in ballots continue to be processed, the New York Times reported.

"It's mostly the fact that young people don't have signatures these days," Aguilar told reporters during a press brief Tuesday. "And when they did register to vote through the automatic voter registration process, they signed a digital pad at DMV, and that became their license signature."

Aguilar's office said it was sending signature verification guidance to each county in the state. In the event that a signature does not match, Nevada voters have the option to rectify, or "cure," rejected ballots until November 12. The state reported that over 11,300 ballots in Clark County, the home of Las Vegas, and over 1,800 ballots in Washoe County still require signature curing as of Monday night. The outcome of an election that is particularly close may be determined by a significant number of ballots that require curing.

"When you start to look at the data and you start to realize how high it is, it makes you nervous, because, again, these races are so close, the margins are so slim, that I don't want to look at the numbers tonight and know that we have to wait for ballots to be cured," Aguilar said. "We need to ensure that every voter's voice is heard."

Nevada is one of the few key swing states that are anticipated to decide the outcome of the election. Former President Donald Trump (R) and Vice President Kamala Harris (D) remain neck-and-neck in this and other swing states, according to the majority of polls. The winner could likely be decided by just a few thousand ballots.