Nevada bill would require public officers to swear added oaths

Public officers would swear additional oaths before taking office. The oaths cover members of the Legislature and executive, judicial, municipal, and ministerial officers. One oath says the officer has no obligation to favor anyone in an official decision. Another says the officer lives where required, will report an address change within 30 days, and will leave office if an event creating a vacancy occurs. These added-oath rules would not apply to officers who held office on or before the act's effective date. The act would take effect upon passage and approval. The added-oath rules would not cover officers already holding office by that date.

An elector could file a written challenge alleging that an incumbent's office has become vacant. An elector may challenge an incumbent over an event that would make the office vacant, including the incumbent no longer actually living in the area required for the office. The challenge must identify the event that caused the vacancy and include supporting documents or evidence. The elector must sign the challenge under penalty of perjury. If the incumbent refuses to leave, the Attorney General or district attorney must bring a court case under the stated conditions. The text sets no separate deadline for filing this challenge.

A party committee or, in some legislative districts, county commissioners could choose a replacement nominee who no longer lives where required. These rules cover party nominations for partisan offices, including state legislative districts that cross county lines. For a legislative district that covers more than one county, county commissioners choose the replacement under the stated process. After the deadline, the nominee's name stays on the ballot; if elected, the office is vacant. The replacement option applies after the primary and before 5 p.m. on the fourth Friday in July of the general-election year. Later vacancies leave the nominee's name on the ballot.

Filing officers would make copies of candidate identity and residence proof public and include candidates' actual residential addresses on certified lists. These provisions cover candidate records kept by state and city filing officers and lists exchanged by the Secretary of State and county clerks. Copies of proof must not include a candidate's Social Security number, driver's license or identification card number, or account number. A mailing address would be included on a certified list only if it differs from the residential address. The certified lists are due within five working days after the last day a nonjudicial candidate may withdraw.