Nevada
NEVADA VIEWS: Lessons from Nevada’s Question 3
A majority of Nevada voters rejected Question 3 on the Nov. 5 ballot. This complex amendment would have eliminated party primaries, advanced five candidates to general elections and introduced a new voting method in general elections
I moved to Nevada in 2021 to care for my aging mother. Before that time, I lived in Maine, where I led efforts that opened Maine’s primaries to all voters and protected the nation’s first statewide ranked-choice voting law.
My values and experience inform me that initiatives to change how we elect our leaders should make their way to voters as the result of home-grown and grassroots movements that are thoughtful, collaborative, strategic and patient.
I am dumbfounded that out-of-state donors and advocates would come into Nevada, steamroll stakeholders and potential allies, rush a constitutional amendment to ballot and spend millions to score a quick win for their preferred policy prescription to our political ills.
As a recent Review-Journal editorial noted, the national coalition behind Question 3 pushed similar initiatives in other states in 2024. Voters rejected each of these proposals.
Here are a few of my takeaways from these failed efforts:
■ Mission and strategy must align. Election reform is inherently hopeful and optimistic. Ramming through policy changes and seeking to buy elections are anti-democratic and deeply cynical approaches to politics. Coalitions with antithetical missions and strategies will almost always fail to achieve the real and lasting change that they seek.
■ Patience is practical. Process matters. How change is made can be as important as what change is made, especially when it comes to process reforms. Elections and voting reform initiatives must be organized by local leaders who will build coalitions and recruit volunteers to secure majority support for their cause, one voter and one conversation at a time. The proper role of national groups is not to lead or dictate, but to support.
■ There is no single solution to fix our broken politics. There are 50 states and more than 50 ways of conducting elections and voting in the United States. While policymakers and advocates should learn from one another, we should be skeptical of anyone or any group that promises a silver bullet or pushes a one-size-fits-all solution.
Voters aren’t stupid. We have a sense when politicians and special interests are trying to put one over on us. Question 3 didn’t pass the straight-face test.
That’s too bad because my experience with ranked-choice voting in Maine has taught me that it works to eliminate vote-splitting and ensure majority winners. You have the freedom to vote for the candidate you like best without worrying that your vote will be “wasted” or that you will help to elect the candidate you like least. In both Maine and Alaska, ranked-choice voting has stopped extreme candidates from winning congressional races.
Ranked-choice voting also increases voter turnout, reduces negative campaigning and encourages more women and minorities to run for office.
Surveys from the states and cities in which millions of Americans rank their vote indicate that voters find it to be simple and easy to use and preferable.
One of the most disappointing false attacks on ranked-choice voting is that communities of color might find it difficult to rank candidates. To suggest that white voters are intellectually superior to voters of color is a racist argument.
Nevadans are frustrated with politics as usual. We know that our system isn’t working like it should. We know that billionaires and corporations have too much power and influence over decisions that affect us all. We want to strengthen our democracy for future generations.
Had the national advocates behind Question 3 approached this effort differently, I believe that there might have been a different outcome.
Kyle Bailey moved to Nevada in 2021 and previously served in the Maine House of Representatives.
Nevada
Nevada Gaming Control Board asks state court to hold Kalshi in contempt – CDC Gaming
Arguing Kalshi is taking hundreds of millions of dollars in wagers on the World Cup and the NBA and Stanley Cup finals, the Nevada Gaming Control Board Friday asked a district court to hold the prediction market operator in contempt, arguing it hasn’t complied with a May 18 judicial order against offering sports betting in the state.
Filed with the First Judicial District Court for the State of Nevada, the filing accuses Kalshi of not geofencing its operations as required, so that “it does not offer or facilitate the offering of any sports-, election-, or entertainment-related event contracts” to anyone located in Nevada.
“Kalshi’s stubborn refusal to comply with the preliminary injunction is causing severe and ongoing harm to Nevada, its finances, and its citizens,” the court filing said. “Every day, Kalshi takes in hundreds of millions in wagers on such events as the NBA Finals, the Stanley Cup Finals and FIFA World Cup. At the same time, Kalshi is severely harming the gaming industry because it refuses to follow the same rules as its licensed sportsbook competitors who actually geofence. This is an intolerable state of affairs. In light of the Board’s investigation and Kalshi’s own admissions that establish its violation of the court order, the court shall hold Kalshi in contempt. Kalshi will never get the message otherwise.”
The Board requested the court to enter a finding of contempt and to impose significant monetary penalties for violation of the court order — either a “disgorgement of all ill-gotten gains” or a sanction of $120,000 a day.
“The court has required Kalshi to stop offering covered event contracts in Nevada,” Board Chair Mike Dreitzer said in a statement. “We will continue to vigorously enforce Nevada law to safeguard gaming in our state.”
In its filing, The Board said that Kalshi by its own admission has spent $190,000 on what regulators referred to as a “homegrown solution that relies only on internet protocol geofencing solutions” that regulators called “notoriously unreliable” for determining user’s locations. The Board accuses Kalshi of being unwilling to use accurate commercial geofencing solutions.
“This is just more from the same old Kalshi playbook; delay, delay, delay,” the court filing said. “Rather than comply with the court’s order Kalshi has taken only a half-hearted and ineffective measure, apparently hoping that the court will deem its meager efforts good enough, so that it can continue profiting at the expense of the state and its citizens.”
The Board said investigators were able to purchase sports betting contracts on Kalshi’s app for NBA playoff games, MLB games, a boxing match, a tennis match, and a celebrity wedding.
The Board has taken action in recent months to halt the operations of other prediction markets in the state and has successfully restricted all unlicensed prediction markets that had been known to be operating in Nevada, Dreitzer said.
The Board considers the offering of sports event contracts, along with certain other event contracts to constitute wagering activity under state law, meaning they must be licensed.
“Nevada’s public policy, as expressed by the Legislature, is that the gaming industry is vitally important to the economy of the state and the general welfare of the inhabitants and therefore must be licensed, controlled, and assisted to protect the public health, safety, morals, good order, and general welfare of the inhabitants of the state,” Dreitzer said.
Nevada
Big takeaways from Nevada’s elections
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Nevada’s 2026 election landscape is taking shape after primary results that set up high-stakes general election matchups for governor and the state’s U.S. House delegation. Political strategist Tal Eslick said the central question will be where voters focus.
“The question will be: If Nevada voters are willing to judge Governor Lombardo on his performance as governor or if they are going to really allow this election to be a referendum on President Trump,” said Eslick, a public affairs strategist with Vista Consulting.
Lombardo won his Republican primary handily with around 90 percent of the vote. Democratic challenger Aaron Ford won the Democratic primary with around 63 percent of the vote.
Eslick said Ford’s strategy may be to nationalize the contest. “A national question about the direction of the country under President Trump. And to a certain extent under Republican rule both in the Senate and the House,” Eslick said.
Nevadans will not have a U.S. Senate race this cycle, but all three U.S. House seats in southern Nevada are on the ballot. Candidates endorsed by Trump won their primaries and are set to face Democratic incumbents Susie Lee and Dina Titus. Republican Cody Whipple won the District 4 primary and will face incumbent Democratic Congressman Steven Horsford. Trump did not endorse a candidate in District 4.
“The ability to win a primary is very different than the ability to win in a general election,” Eslick said.
Eslick said both parties could face challenges appealing to voters in the political middle, with Democrats confronting the dynamics of being longtime incumbents and Republicans having to answer for current policy. He pointed to independent voters as a key bloc in November.
“You have independent voters. Voters who do not associate with either party. And they are going to be the deciding factor in this race beyond that obvious enthusiasm gap, and that is why you might see the messages coming from both candidates tacked towards the middle,” Eslick said.
In Clark County, a contentious Republican primary for county commissioner also appeared to be settled, with Heidi Kasama defeating fellow Republican Albert Mack in District F.
“It certainly makes it tough when you have a nasty primary to then go back to voters and say, ‘Hey, we can appreciate your perspective,’” Eslick said. “Because in a general election, obviously, you want some support from any majority; whether it is of your party or otherwise.”
Groups supporting Kasama circulated an AI or photoshopped image of a sign showing Mack supposedly next to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, suggesting Mack supported Clinton—an allegation Mack denies.
Eslick said attacks involving AI may be less effective in the general election, given public concerns about the technology and its broader impacts.
“There is a real underlying question, and certainly in Nevada, about what AI means for American workers, what AI means for developing energy, what it means for the cleanliness of water,” Eslick said. “That is going to be a debate that, again, people are going to be talking about at their kitchen tables as they are deciding who they are going to support in the election.”
The general election for all races is set for November 3, 2026.
Nevada
More resources available to Nevada entrepreneurs
Here’s to more resources for Nevada entrepreneurs.
The state of Nevada has launched Build Nevada, an AI-powered platform connecting founders, operators and growth-stage companies with Nevada’s capital infrastructure and expansion opportunities. The platform helps companies identify pathways to funding and growth in the state.
Through the platform, companies submit structured project profiles outlining what they are building, their traction, team, and growth plans. Projects are then matched with relevant capital pathways, financing tools and strategic partners across Nevada’s innovation ecosystem. Typical opportunities range from $250,000 to over $3 million, including venture equity, equipment financing, growth lending and expansion capital tied to Nevada operations.
-
Denver, CO38 seconds ago
After venue drama, Melat Kiros makes her case for a ‘new generation of leaders’ in Congress | Rocky Mountain PBS
-
Seattle, WA6 minutes agoFirst Seattle World Cup match Monday: What to know about getting around
-
San Diego, CA13 minutes agoSDSO seeks public input on the future of Vista Detention Facility
-
Milwaukee, WI16 minutes agoBrewers expected to promote No. 4 prospect Pratt for MLB debut
-
Atlanta, GA21 minutes agoAll About Zephyr Southern Brasserie, a Stylish French Arrival for Centennial Yards — Resy | Right This Way
-
Minneapolis, MN28 minutes agoMinneapolis police searching for missing 10-year-old
-
Indianapolis, IN31 minutes agoHow Fever guard Sophie Cunningham stays ready in crunch time
-
Pittsburg, PA36 minutes agoPittsburgh Pre-Professional Soccer Weekend Roundup: Riveters roll on, Steel City men’s shutout streak continues