Last week, the Clark County Charter Review Commission, an elected body of 15 members, passed 10 amendments in expectation of being placed on the November 2026 general election ballot.
In this series, Clark County Today is providing more context on each amendment, including quotes from the sponsor of each amendment.
In this story, we look at 26-40, Amending the Initiative, Mini-Initiative and Referenda Process.
This amendment was sponsored by Cathie Garber, secretary of the commission. It passed 12-3.
According to the charter’s description, if passed by the voters, this would lower the requirement for verified signatures on an initiative or referendum petition from 10 percent to 8 percent.
It would also allow for the transfer of signatures from an unsuccessful initiative petition to a mini-initiative if the required 3 percent of valid signatures have been obtained.
Signatures required for petitions only affecting unincorporated Clark County would be calculated using the same method as petitions for the entire county.
And the County Auditor may use random statistical sampling to verify signatures by sampling no less than 3,000 signatures submitted. No petition may be rejected solely based on statistical sampling.
Garber said this amendment would “reduce barriers to citizen participation by making it easier to use the initiative and referendum powers already provided.”
No citizen petition has reached the ballot since Clark County adopted Home Rule in 2014, Garber noted.
“In part because of the high signature threshold,” she said. “This proposal would make a modest change to improve the likelihood that initiative petitions could qualify.”
One person in public comment noted that this amendment was similar to one that voters already voted against in 2022 and saw no need to try again.
Garber, during her time to speak as the sponsor, said this is not the same amendment as the one on the 2022 ballot.
Of note: The meeting on July 8 was to listen to public comment and to vote on the amendments. The sponsor of each amendment gave a brief argument for his or her amendment, but there were no discussions among the commissioners. Those discussions were made in previous Charter Review Commission meetings. In this meeting, it was just a yes or no vote on each amendment.
To see the recap on 26-01, Clarifying Nonpartisan Office Elections, go here: https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/charter-review-commission-amendment-26-01-clarifying-nonpartisan-office-elections/
To see the recap on 26-07, Housing Impact Analysis, go here: https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/charter-review-commission-amendment-26-07-housing-impact-analysis/
To see the recap on 26-08, Requiring Supermajority Council Approval for County Taxes, go here:
To see the recap on 26-10, Revised Budget Transparency and Process, go here: https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/charter-review-commission-26-10-revised-budget-transparency-process/
To see the recap on 26-14, Performance Audits, go here: https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/charter-review-commission-26-14-performance-audits/
To see the recap on 26-20, Limitation on Consecutive Terms for County Council Members, go here: https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/charter-review-commission-26-20-limitation-on-consecutive-terms-for-county-council-members/
To see the recap on 26-23, Revised Council Powers Regarding Boards and Commissions, go to: https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/charter-review-commission-26-23-revised-council-powers-regarding-boards-and-commissions/
To see the recap on 26-24, Require Annual Report Publication by the County Manager, go to: https://www.clarkcountytoday.com/news/charter-review-commission-26-24-require-annual-report-publication-by-the-county-manager/
To see the recap on 26-31, Establishing a Five-Member Ethics Commission, go to:
