2020 Nevada Question 2

A referendum on Question 2 to the Constitution of Nevada was held on November 3, 2020. The amendment removed the state's gay marriage ban as well as codify gay marriage in Nevada's constitution. A majority of the voters backed the measure, making Nevada the first state to enshrine same-sex marriage into its constitution.

Legislative process

In 2013, the Nevada Legislature began work on legislation to repeal a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage and substitute in its place a gender-neutral definition of marriage. The Senate approved such legislation on April 22 on a 12–9 vote, and the Nevada Assembly passed the resolution on May 23 by a 27–14 vote. It would have required approval by the next legislative session in 2015 and by voters in the 2016 election to take effect. However, as Republicans took control of the Senate following the 2014 elections, no second vote was held. On February 1, 2017, after the Democratic Party took control of the Senate following the 2016 elections, identical legislation (known as Assembly Joint Resolution 2) was introduced to repeal the now-defunct ban on same-sex marriage. The resolution passed the Assembly on March 9 in a 27–14 vote. The Senate amended it to include a religious exemption, after which it passed the bill on May 1 in a 19–2 vote. The Assembly approved the Senate's amendment on May 2. The resolution returned to the Nevada Legislature in February 2019. It was approved by the Assembly on March 29 in a 38–2 vote and by the Senate on May 23, 2019, in a 19–2 vote. As Question 2, it was placed on the November 6, 2020 ballot, and approved with 62% of the vote.

Text of Measure

The ballot question for Question 2 was as follows:

Shall the Nevada Constitution be amended to: (1) remove an existing provision recognizing marriage as only between a male person and a female person and require the State of Nevada and its political subdivisions to recognize marriages of and issue marriage licenses to couples, regardless of gender; (2) require all legally valid marriages to be treated equally under the law; and (3) establish a right for religious organizations and clergy members to refuse to perform a marriage and provide that no person is entitled to make any claim against them for exercising that right? Yes [ ] No [ ]

Results

All counties had fully reported their results by December 17, 2020. The 62.43% "Yes" vote assured the passage of the ballot measure.

See also

• 2002 Nevada Question 2
• Same-sex marriage in Nevada
• 2020 United States ballot measures

Noes