LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Nevada voters will see a total of seven questions on the November ballot, some to give tax breaks, others to amend the Constitution and one that would radically overhaul the way we vote.

Here's a guide to some of the ballot questions you'll be asked to decide next month:

1. Question 1: This measure, placed on the ballot by the Legislature, would remove the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education from the state constitution, and place it in the Nevada Revised Statutes instead.

But that bureaucratic explanation covers a power struggle between state lawmakers and the regents that has simmered for years in Carson City and in the courts.

According to state lawmakers, regents use their exalted status in the constitution (where they are empowered to "control and manage the affairs of the University") as a way to avoid legislative oversight and investigation. If the regents were removed from the constitution and had their duties in state law, then the Legislature would have greater control over the system.

If you think this issue sounds familiar, you're not imagining things. The Legislature put the same question to voters in 2020, where it was narrowly rejected by a margin of just less than 4,000 votes out of more than 1 million cast.

Undeterred, lawmakers began the process of putting it back on the ballot for this year.

The regents believe the measure is a power grab by the Legislature that could threaten their proper constitutional role overseeing the state's colleges and universities and might even threaten academic freedom. The arguments against passage suggest that the Legislature would not be any better at managing university policy than the regents have been.

A yes vote would take the regents out of the constitution; a no vote would retain them in that document.

Question 2: This measure would make changes to the language in the state constitution that refers to people with disabilities, updating 1800s-era terms with more modern words.

"Insane" for example, would be changed to "persons with significant mental illness." The term "blind" would be recast as "persons who are blind or visually impaired." And "deaf and dumb" would instead become "persons who are deaf or hard of hearing."

A yes vote would amend the constitution; a no vote would leave it intact.

Question 3: This measure would make significant changes to the way Nevadans cast their votes for U.S. senators, U.S. representatives, the governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, controller, secretary of state, attorney general and state lawmakers

First, it would change Nevada's current closed primary system to allow all voters — regardless of political party — to cast ballots in primary elections.

Currently, you have to be a Republican to vote in a Republican primary or a Democrat to vote in a Democratic primary.

Nonpartisan voters and members of third parties are excluded from primary elections, except for nonpartisan offices such as city council, school board trustee or judges.

With the primary open to all voters, the top five vote-getters would then advance to the general election. There, voters would be asked to rank them in order of preference, one through five.

If a candidate gets to 50%, that person is declared the winner. But if no candidate gets 50%, then the candidate with the fewest overall votes is dropped, and all of that person's second-choice votes are tallied and distributed among the remaining four candidates. The process repeats until one candidate reaches the 50% threshold.

Proponents say Question 3 will produce more moderate candidates since would-be officeholders would have to appeal to a wider swath of voters in the primary instead of just catering to the more hard-core elements of a party's base, as often happens now.

They also note that the winner of any race would have at least 50% support, unlike now, when candidates for statewide office including governors, members of Congress and statewide office holders have won races with less than a majority.

Opponents say the measure will weaken established political parties, depriving members of the right to choose their preferred representative. (To be sure, both major parties in Nevada oppose Question 3.)

Opponents also maintain the changes will be confusing to voters and may end up disenfranchising people.

If you choose only one candidate, for example, and that person is dropped for lack of votes, your ballot will be exhausted and not counted further.

And, they say, the change will be enshrined in the constitution and take at least five years to change if voters decide they don't like the new method.

Question 3 came about as a result of a voter initiative. It was approved in 2022 by a vote of 53% to 47%, and if approved again, will take effect starting with the primary in June 2026.

A yes vote would approve the switch to open primaries and ranked-choice voting; a no vote would leave the current system intact.

Question 4: Slavery

Nevada became a state in the midst of the Civil War, thus earning the motto, "Battle Born." We entered the Union as a free state and slavery was prohibited, with one key exception: punishment for a crime.

Although slavery or involuntary servitude is no longer used as a punishment in Nevada, the language allowing them remains in the state constitution. Question 4, placed on the ballot by lawmakers, would delete that vestige of the past.

Inmates in Nevada prisons do work for less than minimum wage currently, but that work is voluntary, and the wages go toward restitution, child support or purchases at the prison commissary. Opponents suggest that those programs may be jeopardized by removing the slavery or involuntary servitude language, but proponents said the change would not affect those programs.

A yes vote would amend the constitution and delete the slavery language; a no vote would retain it.

Question 5: Eliminating sales taxes on child and adult diapers

Nevada's sales tax has several components that support the state, local school districts and city and county governments. In addition, some counties — including Clark — have added additional taxes, which results in varying rates around the state.

Question 5 would exempt the sale of child and adult diapers from all of those sales taxes, the way prescription medicine and food prepared at home are now.

Proponents say the tax will help especially low-income residents afford a necessity of life, one that keeps infants healthy and older people able to participate in more activities. But opponents say it will cost the state; a fiscal analysis prepared by the Legislative Counsel Bureau estimated the state would lose out on $9.5 million in tax revenue this year, based on sales of more than $117 million.

Since all tax exemptions must have an expiration date, if Question 5 is approved in November, it would go into effect starting in January and last until December 2050, a quarter-century from now.

A yes vote will approve the exemption; a no vote will reject it.

Question 6: Abortion rights in the constitution

Currently, abortion rights are protected in state law. In 1990, the statute was subjected to a voter referendum and upheld, which means it cannot be changed without another vote of the people.

But Question 6, which came about as a result of a voter initiative, would create a right to an abortion in the state constitution, making it even harder to change and ensuring that, even if a federal abortion ban was passed, Nevada would still allow the practice.

Under Question 6, abortion would be allowed up until "fetal viability," the basic standard that was included in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that was overturned in 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court. Abortion would be allowed after viability if a doctor determined a woman's life was in jeopardy.

Opponents complain that the measure would allow for abortion through all nine months of pregnancy, but existing law allows abortion at up to 24 weeks and thereafter if a mother's life is threatened. They also say the measure could have hidden costs, pointing to a Legislative Counsel Bureau analysis that was unable to determine costs because it would depend on future laws passed by the Legislature.

Proponents say the opposition is spreading fear, and that protections are needed not only for women seeking abortions but for doctors and medical personnel who perform them. That's especially true since other states — including some right next door to Nevada — have adopted more stringent restrictions on abortion.

A yes vote would begin the process of amending the constitution, while a no vote would end the effort entirely. Because Question 6 is a voter initiative, it must be approved a second time by voters in 2026 in order to go into effect.

Question 7: Voter ID

Another voter initiative, Question 7 would require all voters to show ID at the polls or prove they have an ID when voting by mail. Currently, identity and voter eligibility are checked only when registering to vote for the first time, or under certain narrow circumstances when voting.

Under Question 7, voters would be required to show a Nevada driver's license, a state ID card, an employee photo ID from an agency of the U.S. government, Nevada government or local agency, a passport, a military ID card, a student ID card from a Nevada college or university, a tribal ID card or a Nevada concealed weapons permit.

Voters who use mail-in ballots would be required to write the last four digits of their Nevada driver's license number, the last four digits of their Social Security number or the voter registration number issued when they first signed up to vote.

Proponents say the measure would restore confidence in elections and provide a disincentive to voter fraud. They point to polls that show voter IDs wildly popular in Nevada among members of both parties.

But opponents say the measure is unnecessary because instances of in-person voter fraud — in which one person pretends to be someone else in order to cast a ballot — are so rare as to be almost nonexistent. They also say that people without an ID could be disenfranchised by the new rule.

A yes vote would take the first step toward adopting voter ID in Nevada; a no vote would reject it. Since Question 7 also came about by voter initiative, it would have to pass again in 2026 in order to become law.

For more information on all ballot questions, you can read the secretary of state's official guide here.

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