Nevada

What to expect in Nevada's presidential primary and caucuses

Published

10 months ago

February 2, 2024

What to expect in Nevada's presidential primary and caucuses

WASHINGTON (AP) – Nevada again holds the coveted first-in-the-West slot in the presidential campaign calendar, but this year’s showdown in the Silver State won’t look like it did in previous years.

State lawmakers opted to move away from the Iowa-style presidential caucuses that Nevada had held for years in favor of a traditional, state-run primary next Tuesday. The state GOP opposed the plan and opted to hold caucuses on Feb. 8 to allocate delegates. The party also barred candidates running in the primary from running in the caucuses, forcing them to choose one event over the other.

Donald Trump is competing in the caucuses, in which all 26 delegates will be awarded, while Nikki Haley opted to stay on the non-binding primary ballot. She’s the only active major candidate on the ballot, but her biggest opponent on Tuesday might be the “None of these candidates” option that some Trump supporters might use to send her a message ahead of the South Carolina primary on Feb. 24.

In the Democratic primary, President Joe Biden faces author Marianne Williamson and a handful of relatively unknown challengers.

Here’s a look at what to expect in Nevada:

PRIMARY AND CAUCUS NIGHT

Nevada’s state-run Democratic and Republican presidential primaries will be held Tuesday. Polls close at 7 p.m. local time, which is 10 p.m. ET.

The party-run GOP caucuses will be held two days later on Feb. 8. Caucus hours are 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET.

WHAT’S ON THE BALLOT

The Associated Press will provide coverage for the Democratic and Republican presidential primaries on Tuesday and the Republican caucuses on Feb. 8.

The Democratic primary ballot includes Biden, Williamson and 11 other candidates. U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota is not on the ballot. The Republican primary ballot includes Haley, who’s a former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina governor, along with former primary candidates Mike Pence and Tim Scott and four other GOP hopefuls. Trump, the former president, is not on the primary ballot.

The Republican caucuses will feature two candidates: Trump and Ryan Binkley, a pastor. Haley is not on the caucus ballot.

Write-in votes are not allowed in either the primary or the caucuses. In the primary, voters also have the option to vote for “None of these candidates.”

WHO GETS TO VOTE

Only registered party members may participate in that party’s primary. However, Nevada also has same-day registration, which allows new voters to register and registered voters to change their party affiliations at the polls on Tuesday or during the early voting period. The deadline to change party affiliation for voters casting mail ballots was in January.

The GOP caucuses are limited to registered Republicans. The deadline to register was Jan. 9. No same-day registration is permitted. Caucus-goers must present a government-issued ID.

Republican voters may participate in both the Republican primary and caucuses.

DELEGATE ALLOCATION RULES

Nevada’s 36 pledged Democratic delegates are allocated according to the national party’s standard rules. Eight at-large delegates are allocated in proportion to the statewide primary vote, as are five PLEO delegates, or “party leaders and elected officials.” The state’s four congressional districts have a combined 23 delegates at stake, which are allocated in proportion to the vote results in each district. Candidates must receive at least 15% of the statewide vote to qualify for any statewide delegates and 15% of the vote in a congressional district to qualify for delegates in that district.

The state’s 26 Republican delegates are allocated in proportion to the statewide caucus vote on Feb. 8. Candidates must receive at least 3.9% of the caucus vote to qualify for delegates.

HOW DO THE REPUBLICAN CAUCUSES WORK?

The GOP caucuses function like a party-run primary, only with very limited polling hours and no accommodation for absentee voting, except for a small handful of active-duty military voters. Caucus-goers vote on paper ballots that are tabulated at each caucus site. Voters may cast ballots at any time between during caucus hours and may leave immediately after voting. The statewide caucus results determine how many national convention delegates each candidate has won.

DECISION NOTES

The Associated Press will declare winners in both the Democratic and Republican primaries on Tuesday, as well as the Republican caucuses on Feb. 8.

In the primaries, Nevada law requires all elections for president and statewide offices to provide an option to vote for “None of these candidates.” According to the Nevada secretary of state’s office, “only votes cast for named candidates are counted in determining the nomination or election to these offices.” In other words, the “None of these candidates” option can’t win delegates (in contests in which delegates are at stake) or electoral votes or be elected president, governor or U.S. senator.

However, if the “None of these candidates” ballot option receives the highest number of votes in an election, the AP will declare “None of these candidates” as the winner of the race or, in other words, that it has received more votes than any candidate. In this circumstance, the AP would also declare which candidate placed second behind “None of these candidates.” Any delegates at stake in the primary will be calculated using only the vote results of candidates.

This is in keeping with the unique nature of a presidential primary, which is unlike other elections in that the winner isn’t elected to office or doesn’t advance to a subsequent round of voting as a result of the victory. Being the top vote-getter in a presidential primary usually entitles a candidate to more delegates, but no delegates are up for grabs in the Nevada Republican primary, in which the only thing at stake is bragging rights. Declaring that “None of these candidates” received the most votes – or won the primary – would in this case provide a more accurate reflection of how Nevadans voted.

WHAT DO TURNOUT AND ADVANCE VOTE LOOK LIKE?

As of Jan. 1, there were about 2.3 million registered voters in Nevada. About 31% of them were Democrats, 28% Republicans and 34% independents. There is not a recent Nevada presidential primary to provide a meaningful point of comparison, but turnout for the 2020 Democratic caucuses was about 6% of registered voters.

In addition to a one-week in-person early voting period, all registered voters in Nevada are sent a primary ballot by mail, unless they opt out. As of Wednesday, nearly 124,000 Nevadans had already cast their primary ballots, about 61% in the Democratic primary and 39% in the Republican primary. In recent state primaries, 56% of voters cast ballots before primary day in 2018, while 78% did so in 2022. The 2020 state primary was an all vote-by-mail election because of the coronavirus pandemic.

In the Republican caucuses, voting must take place in person at the caucus site on caucus day, although allowances are made for active-duty military voters.

HOW LONG DOES VOTE-COUNTING USUALLY TAKE?

In Nevada state-run elections, polls close at 10 p.m. ET, but the state typically does not release vote results until after that. In the 2022 general election for governor, the first vote update was not available until 12:41 a.m. ET, with the final election night update at 4:44 a.m. ET with 82% of votes tabulated.

In the 2016 GOP caucuses, the first votes were reported at 11:01 p.m. ET, and the last caucus night update was at 5:19 a.m. ET with 100% of votes counted.

ARE WE THERE YET?

As of Tuesday, there will be 273 days until the November general election.

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Nevada

Union urges Mesquite police chief’s ouster

Published

13 mins ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

Union urges Mesquite police chief’s ouster

Many of the residents who packed Tuesday night’s Mesquite City Council meeting said they were “disappointed” by the police union’s complaints against the chief of their city’s police department.

While meeting attendees spilled out of the overflow rooms, a union leader told the mayor and council that the Mesquite Police Officers Association held a vote of “no confidence” in Chief MaQuade Chesley’s ability to run the Mesquite Police Department.

Andrew Regenbaum, who is executive director of the Nevada Association of Public Safety Officers, said a “strong majority” voted that they weren’t confident in Chesley’s leadership.

Nepotism and retaliatory behavior on the part of the chief, Regenbaum alleged, spurred the Mesquite association to hold the vote.

Regenbaum implored city leaders to act Tuesday night.

“I urge you to consider the significance of his actions and this vote of no confidence and take appropriate action,” Regenbaum said.

After Regenbaum spoke, dozens of residents lined up behind him to make their own comments. Many said they backed Chesley and expressed frustrations about what they said was the vagueness of Regenbaum’s statements.

One resident, Sue Hanks, said she “wanted the facts.”

“I want to know exactly what Chief Chesley has done to the detriment of our Mesquite community,” Hanks said.

Another, Jeffery Smith, who has worked as an officer with the department for years, said that the Mesquite Police Officers Association does not “speak for” him. For more than 30 minutes, residents came to the podium to share their disdain for the allegations. Several called it a “witch hunt.”

One called members of the MPOA “cry babies.”

“You better consider that he (Chesley) has done one heck of a job,” said Ron Richmond, a former Mesquite Police Department detective. “I started in 1996, and we never used to do this. (You) work and shut up. You’re not going to get everything you need.”

Chesley, who sat in the audience for the meeting, gave one of the final remarks of the forum. He said that his commitment to the department had never wavered. He also shared that since he became aware of the concerns that the union has with his leadership, he has created a five-year “plan for improvement.”

“The plan focuses on critical areas designed to enhance our internal operation and the service we provide to our community. Some of those areas are open communication and active listening,” Chesley said. “We want to make sure our officers are supported and that their wellness is maintained throughout their careers.”

Unlike one woman whom Mayor Allan Litman interrupted after exceeding the allotted three minutes, the council allowed Chesley’s remarks to go longer than the time limit. The crowd gave him a standing ovation after.

A handful of people dressed in MPOA T-shirts sat near the back of the chambers. One scoffed while Chesley spoke.

During their comments to the council, Mindy Hughes and Brent Horlacher, who had been sitting with the MPOA supporters, insisted that a thorough investigation be done. They said the police union should not be villainized.

“It is the union’s job to demand transparency and honesty from the government entity, as well as any citizen would expect,” Horlacher said. “That is the mission of MPOA. It’s not to hurt anyone. It’s not to talk bad about anyone. It’s not to ruin anybody’s life. It is, however, an essential function of the MPOA to seek truth and accountability from those elected and appointed by the city of Mesquite.”

In an interview after the meeting, Regenbaum told the Review-Journal that he could not discuss specific incidents but that Chesley had “weaponized internal affairs against people in the department who disagreed with him.” According to Regenbaum, the chief had also hired out-of-state friends and given them more favorable pay scales.

“It is not unusual that he (Chesley) would bring out all his supporters,” Regenbaum said. “What is important is that the MPOA rank and rile had the courage to do something of this magnitude.”

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com

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Nevada

‘Administrative errors and confusion’: Governor calls on lawmakers to speed up election certification process

Published

8 hours ago

November 27, 2024

Press Room

‘Administrative errors and confusion’: Governor calls on lawmakers to speed up election certification process

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Election reform is on the table as Nevada finally certified the 2024 election results Tuesday. Certifying the election is part of a long process that leads to the electoral college confirming the results next month. But changes could be coming to the way the state counts its votes in future elections.

No more waiting on Nevada.

That seems to be Governor Joe Lombardo’s goal after the Silver State took its time counting those votes.

Now we know why, according to Secretary of State, Cisco Aguilar.

“First, let me start by addressing the obvious. It has been a challenging election cycle,” Secretary Aguilar said.

Those challenges played out on a national stage, as Nevada was one of the last states to be called. Now the governor is calling for change after the Nevada Supreme Court certified the general election saying in a statement, “The time it takes to count ballots and finalize our elections in Nevada is simply unacceptable. Nevadans deserve timely election results, and all ballots should be received by election day.”

That’s what the governor wants in the future. That’s not what’s happening now.

Especially since mail-in voting proved to be the most popular way to cast a ballot this year as 45% of Nevadans mailed it in, 37% voted early, and 18% voted on election day.

Mail-in ballots that are postmarked on or before the day of the election and received by the fourth day after election day are accepted and processed.

That led to a backlog of votes to count.

Secretary of State, Cisco Aguilar seems open to changing things up for next time. “We have a responsibility to start to build that capacity to ensure we are processing mail ballots in a way that gives us the opportunity to provide the results as close to election night as possible,” Aguilar said.

Since Secretary Aguilar doesn’t want states waiting on Nevada anymore, he suggested a few changes.

“We are all determined to make improvements and suggest legislative steps to ensure our elections remain free and fair, with a focus on continuously improving the voter experience,” Secretary Aguilar said.

But Aguilar admits there were some snafus that led to delayed results among a lot of first-time election officials.

“They continue to deal with the rapid turnover of staff, in an increasingly complex requirement. Those requirements and turnover led to administrative errors and confusion,” Secretary Aguilar said.

Governor Lombardo says ballot issues should be immediately addressed in the next legislative session. That begins in February 2025.

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