Introduction: The right to recall a public officer was added to the Nevada Constitution in 1912. By circulating a petition and qualifying for the ballot, voters can remove any elected official except a United States Senator or Representative in Congress. Between 1993 and 2004, 108 notices of recall were filed with the secretary of state.

The Mapes Hotel and Casino was the first major high-rise hotel built in this country after World War II. When the twelve-story Mapes Hotel opened in the heart of Reno in December 1947, it was the tallest building in Nevada. The hotel was significant in the development of the tourism industry and was the forerunner of the Nevada casino-hotels built specifically to offer gaming, guest accommodations, restaurants, bars, and big name entertainment.

The "Progressive Era" of American political reform (1890s through 1920s) brought three populist provisions to the Nevada Constitution: initiative, referendum, and recall. The initiative process enables voters to propose and enact laws by a vote of the people. In 1909 and again in 1911, as required by the constitution, the Nevada legislature passed legislation to provide for initiative petitions to enact new laws. The initiative amendment was approved by the voters at the general election of 1912 by a vote of 9,956 to 1,027.

The first man to hold the office of Nevada state treasurer may have been the most notorious. Accused of embezzling over $100,000 from the permanent school fund and other state accounts, Ebenezer "Eben" Rhodes died a mysterious death and set off a political firestorm that preoccupied state officials for almost four years after his death. No other state officials were ever charged with wrongdoing, and the bondsmen who had vouched for Rhoades' character were relieved of any liability.