Can NEMRA Help Restore Our Trust In Our State Government?

According to the most recent Gallup poll conducted during the last half of last year, Nevada ranks 39^th in the amount of trust we have for our state government. 53 percent of Nevadans trust our state government, five percent below the national average of 58 percent. North Dakota ranks first with 77 percent trusting their state government. Illinois is last at 28 percent.

Some may think since the percentage that trusts our state government is more than half, there isn't a problem. I do not accept that. Mediocre is never good.

To understand why a low level of trust; yes 53 percent when compared to the national average and ranking 39^th is low, we have to look at the reasons people do not trust government. While Gallup didn't look into the why, an article in The Atlantic gives a good analysis. The state of the economy, the level of unemployment, and how the government is perceived to be handling those issues are driving factors. In other words, is the government solving the problems most impacting the daily lives of the state’s residents?  There is a partisan aspect. Those who are members of the political party in power tend to trust the government more.

We won’t know if this trend of declining trust in state government has continued until Gallup releases their next poll on the subject. Did the Tesla deal increase our trust in our state government? We do know trust in Congress continues to decline reaching new lows this month.

In an earlier post, Nevada Election Modernization and Reform Act - The Details, I link to studies that show open, non-partisan, blanket primaries and the use of Ranked Choice / Instant Runoff Voting (RCV / IRV) lead to elections where the debate is more focused on the median voter resulting in a legislative body more receptive to collaboration, more able to solve the major issues facing the state.  Addressing and solving the issues of employment, education, and taxes would increase our trust in our state government.

For the major issues to be resolved, legislators must be willing to make the difficult decisions beginning with a commitment to come up with a solution then implement that solution. The Nevada Election Modernization and Reform Act (NEMRA) could be the catalyst.