First page of transcription of 1864 telegram of Nevada Constitution. (National Archives, General Records of the Department of State)
Nevada voters will decide whether to remove outdated language used to describe people with disabilities from the state constitution and replace them with more modern terms.
Question 2 on the 2024 ballot this November would remove the words “insane,” “deaf” and “dumb” from Section 1 of Article 13 of the Nevada Constitution, and replace them with more inclusive person-first language, including “persons with a significant mental illness, persons who are blind or visually impaired or persons who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
The measure would also replace the term “institutions” with “entities,” distancing itself from the term “institutionalized” when describing social programs that help people with intellectual or developmental disabilities.
In order for the Nevada State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot for voters to approve, it needs to pass in two consecutive sessions.