First day of early voting tests Nevada’s new VREMS system

Turnout on the first day of early voting was “crazy,” George Guthrie, spokesperson for the Washoe County Registrar of Voters, said Saturday.

“It’s definitely a lot busier than it has been in the primary and the presidential preference primary,” with people voting in person or dropping off mail-in ballots, Guthrie said. “We’re actually seeing lines at some vote centers.”

One of those lines was at South Valleys Library, where over 100 people were queued up at 10:30 a.m. Several of them said election security concerns brought them out to vote in person or drop their mail-in ballot off.

More: Nevada early voting: Where to vote or drop off your ballot for 2024 election

Christie and David Phillips were among the first in line to use the voting machines. The Washoe residents said they don’t trust the system and voting in person is the only way to make sure their vote is counted.

“Nevada’s got the mail-in balloting and we don’t trust that,” David Phillips said. “They need to take that away. Return it back to the way it used to be.”

The line was moving slowly, but the Phillipses said they were “guinea pigs” because the election workers were still getting used to the new digital voting system.

“But they were really great in there,” Christie Phillips said.

Guthrie said the new Voter Registration and Election Management System, or VREMS, will take some getting used to for both election workers and voters, so he encouraged voters to check the voting center wait times online.

The VREMS system centralizes voter data across the state, rather than by county, which elections administrators say reduces the potential for errors. It went live earlier this year, and this is the first election the system is being used.

Carol and Ron Moschetti said they were willing to wait because they know the process is slower with the new security measures.

“I really believe that they’re just trying to figure it out. I think this was their trial run and they’ll figure it out. No complaints,” Ron Moschetti said.

Jennifer and James Massey came down to early vote just to get it over with. They are wary of mail-in ballots and have some business trips coming up, so they wanted to make sure they got their votes in in time. They placed their ballots in the dropbox. 

“I felt very comfortable with the process,” Jennifer Massey said.

As for the election itself, James Massey called it a “circus.” 

Jennifer Massey agreed, saying she was tired of hearing candidates dish out negative comments. She wished they would focus on specific policies and what they want to do to help the American people.

“Both candidates are idiots. This is the worst year of elections I can remember,” James Massey said. 

Mike and Lindy Leonard, Nancy and Gary Rinehert and Susan and Craig Bambrough were among those who didn’t have to wait in line — they stopped by to drop off their mail-in ballots before they headed off to breakfast. 

All three couples said it was an easy process. They filled out their ballots beforehand and went straight to the much shorter drop-off line to confirm their signatures. 

“We could see how well it was running. They’re doing a good job,” Lindy Leonard said of election workers.

Mike Leonard said their top concern is keeping elections fair. His wife agreed, saying she believed the last presidential election was not fair.

“I think a lot of people feel the same,” Lindy Leonard said, pointing to the large turnout as a sign that many others agree with her.

Nancy Rinehert said she was baffled by the results of the last presidential election because she remembers thousands of people showing up in the freezing cold to vote on Election Day, many of them Republicans. Joe Biden won Washoe County in 2020 by 5 percentage points.

The six Washoe residents said everyone needs to get out and vote.

“You’re voting by not voting,” Mike Leonard said.

“Nobody is going to have everything that you want, so pick your poison,” Lindy Leonard said. “Someone is going to get elected.”

Early voting runs through Nov. 1. Election Day is Nov. 5.

Jaedyn Young covers local government for the Reno Gazette-Journal. Her wages are 100% funded by donations and grants; if you’d like to see more stories like this one, please consider donating at RGJ.com/donate. Send your story ideas and feedback to Jaedyn at jyoung@rgj.com.