Nevada

Indy Elections: Your mail ballot may already be here – The Nevada Independent

Published

1 year ago

October 8, 2024

Indy Elections: Your mail ballot may already be here – The Nevada Independent

Indy Elections is The Nevada Independent’s newsletter devoted to comprehensive and accessible coverage of the 2024 elections, from the race for the White House to the bid to take control of the Legislature.

In today’s edition: What do progressives think about Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign? Plus: The political rush to take credit for the United States Postal Service’s decision not to move mail processing to Sacramento, new polling shows Democrats facing increasing headwinds among Latinos and vice presidential hopeful Gov. Tim Walz’s (D-MN) Silver State stop.

The BIG news: Officials are sending out 2024 general election ballots.

Washoe County officials said mail ballots are going out Oct. 9 and will likely arrive in voters’ mailboxes next week. In Clark County, mail ballots are expected to be mailed no later than Oct. 10. Carson City residents have reported receiving their ballots already.

REMINDER: If you are not yet registered to vote and want a mail-in ballot for November, be sure to drop by your local registrar’s office or deliver a voter registration form by Oct. 8. Online registration is also available until Oct. 22 at this link.

And a quick programming note: Thanks to a deluge of election news, we will now publish this newsletter twice weekly. Stay tuned for our Thursday edition.

Click this link to manage your newsletter subscriptions.

We want to hear from you! Send us your questions, comments, observations, jokes or what you think we should be covering or paying attention to. Email your newsletter editor Tabitha Mueller at [email protected].

By the Numbers:

10 days until early voting begins
28 days until Election Day
118 days until the 83rd legislative session

By Eric Neugeboren and Isabella Aldrete

No issue has divided the Democratic Party more this past year than U.S. policy on Israel.

Among the most outspoken progressives has been Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), who stumped for Vice President Kamala Harris in Las Vegas last week. He called on Nevada progressives to vote for Harris despite President Joe Biden’s stance on Israel’s continued military operations in Gaza in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks.

And judging by conversations The Indy had with attendees, they agreed.

The 10 people that we spoke with all said they were supporting Harris, even though they may not agree with all of her policies. The stakes are too high, they said, to back former President Donald Trump.

However, the economy is top of mind for Nevada voters, and a Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll conducted last month found about two-thirds of Nevada likely voters considered the Israel-Hamas war as important in determining their vote, though that was the second-lowest rate among 20 issues posed to respondents.

Read more here on what Nevada progressives think about Harris’ campaign.

On the Record: Assembly District 25 candidates Selena La Rue Hatch and Diana Sande by Tabitha Mueller

This Washoe County swing district could be critical in determining whether Democrats have a veto-proof supermajority.

Harris campaign courts LDS voters in Nevada, banking on Jan. 6, distaste for Trump by Gabby Birenbaum

Did you know 75 percent of Latter-day Saints identify as Republicans?

Once legislative colleagues, Steven Horsford, John Lee now squaring off for House seat by Gabby Birenbaum

They caucused together in Carson City as Democrats before Lee switched parties.

Democrats call for dismissal of GOP lawsuit alleging noncitizens on Nevada voter rolls by Eric Neugeboren

The lawsuits (and legal updates) just keep coming.

GOP pollster: Harris and Rosen up in Nevada, voter ID in landslide by Isabella Aldrete

Remember: The only poll that matters is the one on Election Day.

Poll: Distrust in U.S. elections remains in Nevada, but state elections seen as fair by Eric Neugeboren

I guess it’s easier to trust geographically closer systems.

Poll: Nevadans of both parties against new tariff hikes; Trump has backed the concept by Gabby Birenbaum

When voters understand the issue …

VP debate takeaways: Vance and Walz keep it civil in a policy-heavy discussion by Bill Barrow, Zeke Miller and Nicholas Riccardi, Associated Press

If you saw the memes but missed the debate, this is the recap for you.

Insider Advantage (Sept. 29-30)

800 likely voters
Margin of error: 3.52 percent
Findings
- Trump 49%, Harris 48%
- Rosen 49%, Brown 42%

The starkest finding in this survey is that Harris is only up 3 percentage points with Hispanic voters — a 23-point drop from Biden’s 2020 total that would likely put Nevada out of play for her. While she is winning independents, the poll also finds that Harris is having trouble consolidating Democratic support — Trump is pulling 13 percent of Democrats.

In the Senate race, Rosen is outperforming fellow Democrat Harris with Hispanic voters (by 7 percentage points), independents (12 percentage points) and voters younger than 39 (25 percentage points.) Shockingly, Rosen is even winning white voters in this survey.

Televisa/Univision (Sept. 17-22)

300 likely Latino voters
Margin of error: 5.7 percent
Findings
- Harris 51%, Trump 39%
- Rosen 54%, Brown 33%

This poll of Latino voters in Nevada shows Harris and Rosen struggling to match the Latino vote share that Biden received in 2020 and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) earned in 2022, respectively. That continues a trend we’ve seen for Harris, especially, throughout the cycle in polling. Across surveys, Trump appears poised to improve his margins with Latino voters.

The poll also broke down vote share by whether a respondent predominantly speaks English or Spanish. Contrary to the poll’s findings in other swing states, Harris and Rosen did better among Spanish speakers — by a 4 percentage point margin for Harris and an 8 percentage point margin for Rosen, when compared to those who mainly use English.

— Gabby Birenbaum

AD-NALYSIS OF THE WEEK: The “I took on the Postal Service and won” wars

Rosen and Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) are both taking credit for the U.S. Postal Service’s scrapping plans to move mail processing operations from Reno to Sacramento.

In a 30-second spot released last week, Rosen’s ad says she “wasn’t about to let Washington bureaucrats shut down Northern Nevada’s only mail processing facility.” Amodei’s ad on the issue touts “strong work by Nevada’s congressman.”

The Postal Service’s initial effort to move key mail processing operations out of Northern Nevada drew bipartisan condemnation, including a letter from Rosen, Amodei and Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).

Sam Brown, Rosen’s GOP opponent for Senate, even took credit for being “the first to raise the alarm” on the move (he posted on X the day before the congressional letter was sent).

While it’s unclear what exactly tipped the scales, Congress does not have official authority over the Postal Service, as it’s overseen by the independent Postal Regulatory Commission.

TREND WE’RE FOLLOWING: National Republican Senatorial Committee

Last week, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) — the biggest Republican spender in the Senate race — pulled down about $7 million worth of October ad reservations.

The move is part of a shift in strategy from independent expenditures to joint ad buys with Sam Brown’s campaign — cheaper, given that the group can pay the candidate rate, but somewhat clunky, because they have to give equal time to a national message as the Senate race.

Thus far, we have not seen those joint ad buys come in. For now, there is $18.5 million more in Rosen-aligned future ad buys than Brown has.

ONE OTHER TIDBIT

Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom aired its first Spanish ad last week in favor of Ballot Question 6, which proposes amending the state Constitution to protect abortion. The ad, which will run on Univision and Telemundo, features Angeles, a middle-aged woman who needed a life-saving abortion after doctors found a tumor in her womb. The ballot measure was endorsed by Hispanics in Politics last week.

— Eric Neugeboren, Gabby Birenbaum and Isabella Aldrete

🗳️One heck of a typo — The Nevada Appeal reported that voters in Carson City received mail ballots mistakenly listing Northern Nevada Congressional District 2 candidate Lynn Chapman as a Democrat instead of a member of the Independent American Party. As of Monday morning, the Carson City clerk had not responded to the paper’s request for more details.

💰Adelson, White holding Trump fundraiser — GOP megadonor Miriam Adelson and UFC CEO Dana White are holding a fundraiser for Trump on Friday night, with tickets starting at $1 million.

— Tabitha Mueller and Eric Neugeboren

Tuesday, Oct. 8: Vice presidential hopeful Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) is holding a Reno campaign fundraiser and rally for the Harris campaign. Last month, the campaign postponed Walz’s rally because of a wildfire in the region.
Tuesday, Oct. 8: Trump campaign hosts a get-out-the-vote rally in Henderson with House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) to encourage early voting.
Thursday, Oct. 10: Univision hosts a town hall with Vice President Kamala Harris in Las Vegas.

— Gabby Birenbaum and Tabitha Mueller

And to ease you into the week, a few “posts” to “X” that caught our eye:

We’ll see you Thursday.

Interested in more newsletters from The Nevada Independent?

Find them all here.

Editor’s note: This story appears in Indy Elections, The Nevada Independent’s newsletter dedicated to comprehensive coverage of the 2024 elections. Sign up for the newsletter here.

Source link

Nevada

Nevada debuts public option amid federal health care shifts

Published

10 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Nevada debuts public option amid federal health care shifts

More than 10,000 people have enrolled in Nevada’s new public option health plans, which debuted last fall with the expectation that they would bring lower prices to the health insurance market.

Those preliminary numbers from the open enrollment period that ended in January are less than a third of what state officials had projected. Nevada is the third state so far to launch a public option plan, along with Colorado and Washington state. The idea is to offer lower-cost plans to consumers to expand health care access.

But researchers said plans like these are unlikely to fill the gaps left by sweeping federal changes, including the expiration of enhanced subsidies for plans bought on Affordable Care Act marketplaces.

The public option gained attention in the late 2000s when Congress considered but ultimately rejected creating a health plan funded and run by the government that would compete with private carriers in the market. The programs in Washington state, Colorado, and Nevada don’t go that far — they aren’t government-run but are private-public partnerships that compete with private insurance.

In recent years, states have considered creating public option plans to make health coverage more affordable and to reduce the number of uninsured people. Washington was the first state to launch a program, in 2021, and Colorado followed in 2023.

Washington and Colorado’s programs have run into challenges, including a lack of participation from clinicians, hospitals, and other care providers, as well as insurers’ inability to meet rate reduction benchmarks or lower premiums compared with other plans offered on the market.

Nevada law requires that the carriers of the public option plans — Battle Born State Plans, named after a state motto — lower premium costs compared with a benchmark “silver” plan in the marketplace by 15% over the next four years.

But that amount might not make much difference to consumers with rising premium payments from the loss of the ACA’s enhanced tax credits, said Keith Mueller, director of the Rural Policy Research Institute.

“That’s not a lot of money,” Mueller said.

Three of the eight insurers on the state’s exchange, Nevada Health Link, offered the state plans during the open enrollment period.

Insurance companies plan to meet the lower premium cost requirement in Nevada by cutting broker fees and commissions, which prompted opposition from insurance brokers in the state. In response, Nevada marketplace officials told state lawmakers in January that they will give a flat-fee reimbursement to brokers.

The public option has faced opposition among state leaders. In 2024, a state judge dismissed a lawsuit, brought by a Nevada state senator and a group that advocates for lower taxes, that challenged the public option law as unconstitutional. They have appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Federal Policy Impacts

Recent federal changes create more obstacles.

Nevada is consistently among the states with the largest populations of people who do not have health insurance coverage. Last year, nearly 95,000 people in the state received the enhanced ACA tax credits, averaging $465 in savings per month, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.

But the enhanced tax credits expired at the end of the year, and it appears unlikely that lawmakers will bring them back. Nationwide ACA enrollment has decreased by more than 1 million people so far this year, down from record-high enrollment of 24 million last year.

About 4 million people are expected to lose health coverage from the expiration of the tax credits, according to the Congressional Budget Office. An additional 3 million are projected to lose coverage because of other policy changes affecting the marketplace.

Justin Giovannelli, an associate research professor at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University, said the changes to the ACA in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last summer, will make it more difficult for people to keep their coverage. These changes include more frequent enrollment paperwork to verify income and other personal information, a shortened enrollment window, and an end to automatic reenrollment.

In Nevada, the changes would amount to an estimated 100,000 people losing coverage, according to KFF.

“All of that makes getting coverage on Nevada Health Link harder and more expensive than it would be otherwise,” Giovannelli said.

State officials projected ahead of open enrollment that about 35,000 people would purchase the public option plans. Of the 104,000 people who had purchased a plan on the state marketplace as of mid-January, 10,762 had enrolled in one of the public option plans, according to Nevada Health Link.

Katie Charleson, communications officer for the state health exchange, said the original enrollment estimate was based on market conditions before the recent increases in customers’ premium costs. She said that the public option plans gave people facing higher costs more choices.

“We expect enrollment in Battle Born State Plans to grow over time as awareness increases and as Nevadans continue seeking quality coverage options that help reduce costs,” Charleson said.

According to KFF, nationally the enhanced subsidies saved enrollees an average of $705 annually in 2024, and enrollees would save an estimated $1,016 in premium payments on average in 2026 if the subsidies were still in place. Without the subsidies, people enrolled in the ACA marketplace could be seeing their premium costs more than double.

Insights From Washington and Colorado

Washington and Colorado are not planning to alter their programs due to the expiration of the tax credits, according to government officials in those states.

Other states that had recently considered creating public options have backtracked. Minnesota officials put off approving a public option in 2024, citing funding concerns. Proposals to create public options in Maine and New Mexico also sputtered.

Washington initially saw meager enrollment in its Cascade Select public option plans; only 1% of state marketplace enrollees chose a public option plan in 2021. But that changed after lawmakers required hospitals to contract with at least one public option plan by 2023. Last year the state reported that 94,000 customers enrolled, accounting for 30% of all customers on the state marketplace. The public option plans were the lowest-premium silver plans in 31 of Washington’s 39 counties in 2024.

A 2025 study found that since Colorado implemented its public option, called the Colorado Option, coverage through the ACA marketplace has become more affordable for enrollees who received subsidies but more expensive for enrollees who did not.

Colorado requires all insurers offering coverage through its marketplace to include a public option that follows state guidelines. The state set premium reduction targets of 5% a year for three years beginning in 2023. Starting this year, premium costs are not allowed to outpace medical inflation.

Though the insurers offering the public option did not meet the premium reduction targets, enrollment in the Colorado Option has increased every year it has been available. Last year, the state saw record enrollment in its marketplace, with 47% of customers purchasing a public option plan.

Giovannelli said states are continuing to try to make health insurance more affordable and accessible, even if federal changes reduce the impact of those efforts.

“States are reacting and trying to continue to do right by their residents,” Giovannelli said, “but you can’t plug all those gaps.”

Are you struggling to afford your health insurance? Have you decided to forgo coverage? Click here to contact KFF Health News and share your story.

KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.

Source link

Nevada

NEVADA VIEWS: Planning for a resilient economic future

Published

22 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

NEVADA VIEWS: Planning for a resilient economic future

Southern Nevada has a proud history of competing — and winning — through boldness and reinvention. We have developed a world-class tourism economy, built globally recognized brands and demonstrated our ability to rebound from significant disruptions. In today’s fiercely competitive global economy, however, we must intentionally design the next chapter of our economic story. Communities worldwide are continuously enhancing their sophistication, and we must keep pace.

Since joining the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance in late August of last year, I have consistently heard from community partners that we must diversify and enhance Southern Nevada’s economy. Our goal is to build upon and complement the strengths we already possess.

To achieve this, the alliance, as Southern Nevada’s regional economic development organization and designated Regional Development Agency, is embarking on a comprehensive strategic planning process. This initiative will guide our economic development priorities both in the near and long term, ensuring that we focus on areas that will yield the most positive impact.

The alliance has a history of reinvention, having been established in 1958 as the Southern Nevada Industrial Foundation, later becoming the Nevada Development Authority, and since 2011, operating under its current name in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.

Economic development extends beyond merely attracting companies. It encompasses the ability of local families to access high-wage careers, the opportunity for young people to build their futures at home and the resilience of our economy to withstand disruptions.

Over the past decade, Southern Nevada has made significant strides toward economic diversification, with investment outcomes in 2025 surpassing those of 2024. However, our work is far from complete. While tourism will always be a foundational strength and source of pride for our region, over-reliance on any single sector poses risks. A diversified economy enhances stability, and stability creates opportunities. We are united in our desire for more accessible housing, expanded health care and education, and greater upward mobility for our residents.

This strategic planning effort aims to ensure that the alliance and its partners concentrate on the right initiatives in the right manner. It will validate the region’s target industries and subsectors, narrowing our focus on areas where Southern Nevada has genuine competitive advantages and long-term potential. The planning process will include community interviews, focus groups and surveys to ensure our final strategy reflects the real opportunities and challenges facing Southern Nevada. We will establish flagship goals and a prioritized strategy matrix to direct our attention and resources toward meaningful outcomes.

A crucial aspect of this process involves clarifying roles within the broader economic ecosystem. Economic development is a team sport — when organizations replicate efforts, operate in silos or compete for recognition, the region loses valuable time and credibility, allowing opportunities to slip away. I have witnessed this behavior in various markets, serving as a red flag for prospective companies.

We have already made strides in building partnerships, exemplified by a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2025 with the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada to jointly support economic development education and advocacy for community leaders statewide.

Our strategic work will also include a organizational assessment of the alliance, evaluating our mission, resource deployment and engagement model. Economic impact requires operational excellence and measurable execution. Most importantly, this plan — which we anticipate completing by late April — will feature a three-year road map with clear timelines, recommended actions and meaningful metrics to transparently track our progress. A longtime mentor of mine often said, “What gets watched gets measured, and what gets measured gets done.”

Las Vegas has always taken the initiative to shape its own future. This strategic plan presents an opportunity for us to do what we do best: come together, think bigger, act smarter and create something lasting. Together, we can build a purposeful and resilient economic future for Southern Nevada.

Danielle Casey is president and CEO of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.

Source link

Nevada

Nevada State Police averts ‘udder chaos’ in Eureka County

Published

1 day ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Nevada State Police averts ‘udder chaos’ in Eureka County

EUREKA COUNTY, Nev. (KOLO) – On Friday, Feb. 27, the Nevada State Police assisted with a cattle crossing on State Route 306 at Interstate 80 in Eureka County.

“While not an everyday part of our job, we like to do our part to assist our local ranchers while keeping traffic from turning into udder chaos,” according to an agency Facebook post. “It was a perfect opportunity to be outside (even if our animal friends were a little moo-dy).”

Source link