The Washoe County Board of County Commissioners and the Carson City Board of Supervisors will appoint a resident of Senate District 16 to fill the senate seat following the resignation of Sen. Ben Kieckhefer earlier this month.
Per state law, the appointed senator must live in the senate district and have lived there as of Sept. 29, 2021, and residents interested in applying can check their district by entering their home address on the Nevada State Legislature’s “Who’s My Legislator” website. Applicants must also be a registered member of the same party as the outgoing senator, at least 21 years old and a qualified elector as defined in the Nevada Constitution, and have no legal condition or status that would prevent them from being able to take the oath of office.
The application period opens at 9 a.m. October 22 and closes at 12 p.m. October 28 and can be found here. Applications will not be accepted outside of the application period and can be emailed to SD16applications@washoecounty.gov or delivered in person to the Washoe County Administrative Complex, County Manager’s Office, 1001 East 9th Street, Reno, during normal business hours.
Because the senate district spans two counties, both the Carson City Board of Supervisors and the Washoe County Board of County Commissioners must decide on a single appointment. Carson City Supervisors will review applicants and select a single nomination on November 4, and the Washoe County Commissioners will meet November 9 to do the same. The two boards will meet jointly on November 10 at 1 p.m. to select the appointment.
The process must be conducted immediately, as the Nevada State Legislature is slated to convene a special session this year to decide redistricting following the 2020 U.S. Census.
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