Gov. Joe Lombardo (R-NV) on Thursday vetoed a bill pitched by the state’s Democratic-controlled legislature as an effort to expand voter ID requirements — something he has advocated.

As the 2025 legislative session wound down, Democrats hoped the Republican governor, who has long advocated enshrining voter ID requirements into law, would sign off on legislation containing their priorities, which they said also tightened voter integrity.

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However, the governor vetoed AB499, legislation pushed by Democratic Assembly Speaker Steve Yeager, requiring mail-in voters to include part of a personally identifiable number and mandating that in-person voters show a photo ID. Yeager and his allies had billed the legislation as a compromise that would institute requirements Lombardo wanted while giving Democrats a nod by increasing ballot drop box capacity, a provision the governor vetoed in May due to security concerns over ballot harvesting.

AB 499 was staunchly opposed by progressives in the state, who argued that “any attempt at strengthening Nevada’s election security through voter I.D. laws would come in a world where voter fraud is extraordinarily rare, and where voter impersonation — the alleged fraud at the heart of voter I.D. — is even rarer.” 

Democrats billed the veto as a traitorous surprise after legislative sources indicated that the Republican governor was on board in comments to the Nevada Independent. 

“Lombardo was for AB499 before he was against it, encouraging all legislative Republicans to support it, which they did,” Yeager said, calling the decision a “breach of trust,” according to the Associated Press. 

Lombardo has defended his decision in a veto message, expressing concerns over provisions regarding signature verification in the bill that he argued didn’t sufficiently protect the integrity of votes. Republicans are pushing for laws that would require both a voter’s signature and the number they use for identification to match. 

However, AB499 allows an identifying number, such as a Social Security number or voter registration number, to be the sole source of verification for people voting by mail if their ballot is questioned. Under AB499, if a voter’s signature didn’t pass muster, election officials would use the identification number provided to verify ballots, a provision Republicans view as abundantly vulnerable to fraud and essentially a shortcut to ballot curing for Democrats, who outpace the GOP in terms of mail-in voting in Nevada. 

Instead of signing AB499 into law, Republicans are hoping voters pass a referendum next year, setting more of their priorities into state statute. 

Nevadans are set to vote on a ballot measure in 2026 that would implement both signature and identification number requirements as necessary for voter verification. Voters overwhelmingly approved ballot Question 7 last November, but have to pass it again to amend the state constitution. 

“Nevada Democrats call this bill a compromise, the truth is it was actually intended to undermine the Voter ID measure that voters overwhelmingly support,” John Burke, the spokesman for the Lombardo-adjacent Better Nevada PAC, said of AB499 in comments to the Washington Examiner. “They tried to increase opportunities for un-watched ballot harvesting and make our elections less secure.”

“The reality is, they rejected conversations that could have increased election security, required all ballots to be received by Election Day, saved money, and improved confidence in our election system,” the Lombardo ally continued. “Election reforms should not be about partisan advantages, they should be about doing right by the people of Nevada and protecting the integrity of the process.”

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Last month, the Nevada Association of County Clerks and Election Officials sent legislators a letter similarly warning that relying primarily on an ID number to verify the identity of those voting by mail could lead to voter fraud. 

“This … should be used as a secondary source of identification but should not replace the verified signature of a person as a means by which to cast a mail ballot,” the letter said.