LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Gov. Joe Lombardo didn't spare most election-related measures passed by the 2025 Legislature, rejecting measures to require greater campaign disclosure, prohibit fake presidential electors and allow voters to challenge whether elected officials live in their districts.
The governor did sign Assembly Bill 73, which requires disclosure if artificial intelligence was used to create a campaign ad.
VIDEO: Steve Sebelius reports the latest on bills that Lombardo has passed or vetoed
And he also approved Assembly Bill 123, which would prohibit threatening campaign ads.
The governor has until Friday to sign or veto all legislation passed by the 2025 Legislature, or it will become law without his signature.
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We tracked bills for locals: Here's what happened
As of Thursday, Lombardo had vetoed 161 bills, more than any other governor in state history, including 75 in the 2023 session and 86 thus far in the 2025 session.
The previous record was set by former Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval, who vetoed 97 bills during his two terms in the governor's mansion over four legislative sessions. Lombardo is still in his first term, with two sessions under his belt.
Election bills rejected
Some of Lombardo's vetoes come as no surprise. For example, he vetoed a fake-elector bill in 2023, saying the penalties were too harsh. He also vetoed Senate Bill 102 this session, although the penalties had been reduced, saying the bill could potentially criminalize legitimate protest.
He also rejected a bill to prohibit firearms at polling places two years ago, but that bill contained language regulating so-called ghost guns. This year's bill — Assembly Bill 105 — dealt only with guns at the polls, but Lombardo still vetoed it, saying federal and state laws already addresses voter intimidation.
But he vetoed Assembly Bill 499, which would have provided for voter ID when voting, along with ballot drop boxes between early voting and Election Day. That bill was a compromise measure offered by Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, after a stand-alone ballot box bill was vetoed by Lombardo earlier in the session.
Lombardo also turned down:
- Assembly Bill 79, pertaining to additional disclosure of campaign donations and expenditures.
- Assembly Bill 496, which would have required county clerks to post the number of outstanding mail ballots left to count after an election. The bill also would have required the publication of a monthly list of registered voters.
- Senate Bill 100, which would have allowed potential prosecutions of officials who fail to perform election-related duties, including certifying election results.
- Senate Bill 414, which would have required additional disclosures, including from inaugural committees.
- Senate Bill 428, which would have allowed voters to challenge their elected officials for allegedly not living in their district.
- Assembly Bill 597 would have allowed independent voters to cast a Republican or Democratic ballot in a partisan primary without having to change their voter registration.
