In Las Vegas, thousands of tenants facing eviction never get their case in front of an elected judge. Instead, an unelected hearing master — appointed, not voted on — can decide whether they keep their home, often in a matter of minutes. Move a few miles away to Henderson or North Las Vegas, and that same tenant would have a judge accountable to voters. In Las Vegas, they don't.

This isn't a small technicality. In 2025 alone, more than 53,600 summary eviction cases went through the Las Vegas Justice Court — and every one of them could be decided entirely by an official the public never elected and cannot vote out. Legal aid attorneys have now asked the Nevada Supreme Court to step in, arguing that letting unelected hearing masters make final rulings on evictions violates the Nevada Constitution.

"This sort of abuse of the hearing master system is a way, whether or not they acknowledge it, of shirking their responsibilities to make the hard decisions," said Christopher Peterson, legal director of the ACLU of Nevada.

Evictions upend lives — they cost people their homes, their stability, and often their sense of safety. A decision this serious shouldn't rest solely with someone the public has no power to hold accountable. Nevada's justice system was built so voters could choose the judges who decide matters like these. Tenants facing eviction deserve nothing less.

The Nevada Supreme Court has the authority to require that elected judges oversee eviction rulings statewide. Sign the petition to demand elected judicial oversight of every Nevada eviction case — before more Nevadans lose their homes without ever having a say in who decided their fate.