Even for the most politically plugged in Nevada residents, what you need to know about voting can get confusing – especially with two primaries, a caucus and the general election coming up.
Here’s a simple breakdown of the information you need to know to vote in Nevada in 2024.
You’ll learn the important dates, who and what will be on the ballot, voting requirements, how to register to vote, how to update your registration and more.
What elections will Nevada have in 2024?
Presidential preference primary – Feb. 6
The first election coming up is the presidential preference primary Feb. 6, with early voting starting Jan. 27. Only registered Republicans and Democrats can vote in it.
It will be structured like a typical election with sample ballots mailed out, mail-in ballots as the default and electronic voting at many of the usual vote centers.
Based on a 2021 change approved by the Nevada Legislature, the PPP as it’s known was intended to be a simpler way to pick the preferred presidential candidates for the two major parties.
Nevada would then send delegates to the Democratic and Republican national conventions, and those delegates would cast their votes based on who voters picked during the PPP. This is what will happen for Democrats.
For Republicans, the state party says it will not consider anyone who registered – at no cost – for the PPP when it sends delegates to its national convention. Instead, it will only consider the results from its caucus, which it will host and pay for itself.
Still, Republican candidates who signed up to run in the PPP instead of the caucus will get some national publicity if they do well.
Republican candidates on the PPP ballot are former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, U.S. Sen. Tim Scott, also from South Carolina, and four other lesser-knowns plus former Vice President Mike Pence, who has dropped out of the presidential race.
Democratic candidates on the PPP ballot are the incumbent, President Joe Biden; self-help author Marianne Williamson; and 11 others you probably haven’t heard of.
Republican presidential caucus – Feb. 8
The Nevada Republican Party will hold an in-person caucus Feb. 8 at various precinct locations around the state.
Republican candidates who have registered for the caucus are former President Donald Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum and Texas pastor Ryan Binkley.
Get details on how to participate in the Republican caucus at nevadaGOP.org/2024-presidential-caucus.
June primary – June 11
The Primary Election will be June 11 with early voting from May 25 through June 7.
This is the primary where non-presidential candidates will be winnowed down.
The candidates for the June primary haven’t had a chance to file that they are running yet. For judges and justices of the peace, they will file in early January; for all other races, candidates will file in early March.
But which races will be on the ballot are known.
These include Nevada’s U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Jacky Rosen, its District 2 seat in the U.S. House held by Republican Mark Amodei, numerous state legislative seats and many local offices.
For the June primary, only Democrats will be able to vote for Democratic candidates, only Republicans for Republican candidates, and everyone else will be able to vote for nonpartisan races where no party affiliation is listed such as for city councils and school boards.
General election – Nov. 5
The big general election for 2024 will be held Tuesday, Nov. 5.
In Nevada, early voting will run from Oct. 19 to Nov. 1.
In addition to the candidates who survive the primary/caucus gauntlet, the general election will include five ballot questions.
- Question 1 will decide whether the Board of Regents, which oversees state universities in Nevada, should fall under control of the state legislature rather than be its own standalone institution.
- Question 2 would revise the state constitution to replace the words “insane, blind, deaf and dumb” with more current language.
- Question 3 is called the ranked-choice ballot initiative. It would open Nevada’s primaries so anyone regardless of political party registration could vote in them. All candidates for state and federal races would be on the same ballot, and the top five primary vote-getters would move onto the general election.
- Question 4 would remove language from the state constitution allowing the use of slavery or involuntary servitude as criminal punishments and add language saying those things will never be tolerated in Nevada.
- Question 5 would provide a sales tax exemption for child and adult diapers.
Voter registration requirements in Nevada
A person must meet the following qualifications to register to vote in Nevada:
- Must be a United States citizen.
- Must be at least 17 years old (if preregistering to vote) or at least 18 years old by the date of the election (if registering to vote).
- Must have continuously resided in their Nevada county at least 30 days before the date of the election.
- And must have continuously resided in their precinct at least 10 days before the date of the election.
How to register to vote in Nevada
Online voter registration is available for residents of all Nevada counties at RegisterToVote.NV.gov.
Eligible voters can register to vote and update their voter registration info there, including change of address and party affiliation. A Nevada DMV-issued driver’s license or ID is required to register online.
If you don’t have a Nevada-issued ID but live here – students would be an example – you can fill out a mail-in voter registration form available online at RegisterToVote.NV.gov. You can either mail it or hand-deliver it to your county clerk or registrar of voters.
If you have technical problems, call the Secretary of State’s office at 775-684-5705 or email nvelect@sos.nv.gov.
How to update your voter registration in Nevada
At NVSOS.gov/votersearch, you can find almost any voter registration service.
You can verify which party you’re registered as, update your mail-in ballot preference, view your voting history, find a polling location, see who your elected representatives are and view a sample ballot on this webpage.
About mail-in ballots in Nevada
Unless you opt out at NVSOS.gov/votersearch, everyone in Nevada automatically gets sent a mail-in ballot through the U.S. Postal Service.
Note: Opt-out requests must be received at least 60 days before Election Day. If you opt out of getting a mail-in ballot, that will apply to all future elections, too.
You can then fill out your paper ballot and drop it in the mail. To be counted, ballots sent through the mail must be received by 5 p.m. on the fourth day following the election and must be postmarked on or before Election Day.
You can also hand-deliver your ballot – or have someone bring it for you – to a voting center.
And you can vote on an electronic voting machine at a voting center if you prefer. Bring your ballot with you for an easier check-in process.
How to find out where to vote in Nevada
The Nevada Secretary of State’s website will post links to early voting sites and election day polling locations for each county on its website under the tab for “Elections” when they become available.
You’ll also be able to find voting locations tailored to you by visiting NVSOS.gov/votersearch,
How to find out the status of your ballot in Nevada
After you’ve voted, you can find out the status of your ballot at RegisterToVote.NV.gov.
Or you can also view your ballot’s status and sign up to receive automatic updates – by email, text or voice call – at nevada.ballottrax.net.
Same-day voter registration in Nevada
If you’ve never registered to vote before but decide to at the last minute – or, as sometimes happens, there’s a mistake in your registration that you don’t notice until you arrive at a voting center – don’t worry.
Nevada allows same-day voter registration and registration changes. To do either of these, you will need to vote in person at a vote center. If you haven’t voted before, you will need to provide a government-issued ID and cast a provisional ballot that won’t be counted until it’s verified that you meet the requirements of voter registration.
Where to find Nevada election results
The state of Nevada posts official election results and voter turnout statistics at silverstateelection.nv.gov.
Mark Robison is the state politics reporter for the Reno Gazette Journal, with occasional forays into other topics. Email comments to mrobison@rgj.com or comment on Mark’s Greater Reno Facebook page.
