Early Voting Feb. 15-18, 2020

ema Feb. 24. - The four day early voting period was not with incident.  Some participants encountered long lines and, as reported by the Las Vegas Journal-Review, over one thousand early votes were voided.  One person who encountered such difficulties was Earlene Blackmon, 65, who works for the housing authority in Las Vegas.  She waited for 2 1/2 hours to vote at Doolittle Center on Saturday, February 15, the first day of early voting.  On Feb. 18 she received a text stating that "your early vote ballot was void. Because of that you are eligible to participate on Caucus Day."  No reason was given as to why her ballot had been voided.  Blackmon was determined to vote and turned out to caucus at Rancho High School on February 22, but she said some of the people who had been waiting in line were in their 80's and she doubted they would go to the caucus.  Another person whose ballot was voided was James, 80, a retired union carpenter who uses an electric cart to get around.  He early voted at the East Las Vegas Library, but his ballot was voided because, he was told, he put uncommitted as his third choice, rather than a candidate.  Like Blackmon he was persistent, making the second effort and caucusing at Rancho High School on February 22.

See also:
Blake Apgar.  "1,224 caucus ballots voided after early voting."  Las Vegas Review-Journal, Feb. 20, 2020.
Michelle L. Price.  "Nevada Democrats propose early voting for 2020 caucuses." AP, Mar. 8, 2019.

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Nevada State Democratic Party
February 22, 2020
Contact: Molly Forgey

NEWS: More Than 10,000 Nevadans Registered as Democratic Voters During Early Vote Caucus Period

The Nevada State Democratic Party announced today that more than 10,000 Nevadans registered to vote as Democrats to participate during the historic four-day early voting period. Over the course of four days of early voting, nearly 75,000 Nevadans turned out to participate in the caucus. Thanks to same-day voter registration, the caucus has already significantly grown the Democratic voter registration advantage over Republicans in Nevada -- again -- ahead of the 2020 general election.

At the start of 2020, Democrats held a growing statewide registration advantage of more than 80,000, or above 5%. Independent and nonpartisan voters now outnumber registered Republicans in Clark County, relegating the GOP to third-party status in the state’s most populous county.

“With more than 10,000 Nevadans newly registering as Democrats during early voting, it’s clear that we are bringing a wave of new voters into our party and building a growing coalition who will mobilize for our nominee in November,” said Nevada State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy II. “This is how we beat Donald Trump and elect Democrats up and down the ticket in 2020.”

“The most important goal behind our historic early voting period was bringing more Nevadans into the process, and these astounding numbers are proof that we succeeded,” said Nevada State Democratic Party Executive Director Alana Mounce. “We are now laser-focused on holding the most expansive and accessible Caucus Day yet, and we look forward to bringing even more Nevadans into our party and the caucus process today.”

NV Dems made history as the first and only caucus state to include in-person early voting this election cycle to accommodate those unable to attend on Caucus Day this Saturday. From February 15 through February 18, Democratic voters were able to participate at any location within their county at more than 80 locations across the state, including four back-of-house locations on the Las Vegas Strip.

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Nevada State Democratic Party
February 18, 2020
Contact: Molly Forgey

NV Dems Conclude Successful First-Ever Early Voting Caucus Period with Strong Turnout

Today, the Nevada Democratic Party announced an update on high Democratic voter turnout during the historic early voting period: over the course of four days, a total of almost 75,000 Nevadans turned out early to participate in the caucus.

• Nearly 75,000 Nevadans participated in the caucus by voting early
• Majority of early vote participants were first-time caucus-goers  
• NV Dems ran 82 conveniently located early voting sites, with at least one in every county
• NV Dems trained nearly 900 volunteers on caucus procedure and technology since Saturday
• NV Dems empowered Nevadans to vote early in three different languages - English, Spanish, and Tagalog

NV Dems made history as the first and only caucus state to include in-person early voting this election cycle to accommodate those unable to attend on Caucus Day this Saturday. From February 15 through February 18, Democratic voters were able to participate at any location within their county at more than 80 locations across the state, including four back-of-house locations on the Las Vegas Strip. 

“Nevada Democrats have been committed to making this the most accessible caucus in our state’s history so more voters can easily participate in the process of selecting our party’s nominee to win the White House and beat Donald Trump, and that’s exactly what we have delivered,” said Nevada State Democratic Party Chair William McCurdy II. “With nearly 75,000 Nevadans showing up to make their voices heard, it’s clear we have the energy and momentum to build on our incredible early vote turnout with a successful Caucus Day and Democratic wins up and down the ballot in November.”

“We knew that launching the first-ever early voting period for Nevada’s caucus would be a huge challenge to pull off, but the driving force behind this was wanting to bring more Nevadans into the process of selecting our Democratic nominee,” said Nevada State Democratic Party Executive Director Alana Mounce. “These blockbuster turnout numbers show what we accomplished by making the caucus more flexible for voters, and we are now laser-focused on ensuring we finish strong with our most expansive and accessible Caucus Day yet on Saturday.”

Nevada is the first Western state in the presidential primary and the only early state where the electorate reflects the full diversity of the Democratic Party and the country as a whole. As a majority-minority state, Nevada has a vibrant African American community, one of the fastest-growing AAPI communities in the nation, and nearly one-third of the state’s population is Latinx. With 14% of residents identifying as union members, Nevada also has the largest organized labor presence of any early state. Nevada will play a decisive role in selecting our Democratic nominee to defeat Donald Trump in 2020.

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Nevada State Democratic Party
February 18, 2020
Contact: Molly Forgey

More than 36,000 Democrats Turn Out During First Three Days of Early Voting

Today is the final day of early voting at 55 locations across the state, and Democrats can participate at any early vote site in their county. Days and hours of operation will vary among sites and can be found at nvdems.com/early-vote.

NV Dems made history as the first and only caucus state to expand upon Caucus Day by including four days of in-person early voting to accommodate those unable to attend on February 22, 2020. Voting sites (63 on Saturday and 24 on Sunday) were spread out across the state to meet voters where they are – from grocery stores and restaurants in East Las Vegas, Little Ethiopia and Chinatown to the Old Post Office in Fallon. And for the first time, ballots were provided in English, Spanish and Tagalog.

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Nevada State Democratic Party
February 17, 2020
Contact: Molly Forgey

More than 18,000 Democrats Turn Out for First Day of Early Voting, a Majority First-Time Caucus-Goers

Today, the Nevada Democratic Party provided an update on its historic early voting period:

• On the first day of early voting in the 2020 First in the West Caucus, more than 18,000 Democrats turned out to participate.
• 56 percent of voters on Saturday were first time caucus-goers, meaning they did not participate in the 2008 or 2016 caucuses.
• More than 26,000 Nevadans had participated in the first two days of early voting process as of 9am PT Monday morning.

NV Dems made history as the first and only caucus state to expand upon Caucus Day by including four days of in-person early voting to accommodate those unable to attend on February 22, 2020. Voting sites (63 on Saturday and 24 on Sunday) were spread out across the state to meet voters where they are – from grocery stores and restaurants in East Las Vegas, Little Ethiopia and Chinatown to the Old Post Office in Fallon. And for the first time, ballots were provided in English, Spanish and Tagalog.

“We are happy to see the number of energized Democrats participating in our first ever early voting period, specifically the amount of first-time caucus-goers,” said Nevada State Demoractic Party Chair William McCurdy II. “We added four days of in-person early voting in order to make the caucus more accessible and encourage more people to participate in the process for the first time – and that’s exactly what’s happened.”

As the first Western state to make its voice heard in the presidential primary, the Silver State plays a pivotal role in deciding our nominee. Nevada is a majority-minority state with a nearly one-third Latinx population, making our electorate much more reflective of the Democratic Party and the country as a whole.

Early voting continues through February 18th at more than 80 locations across the state, and Democrats can participate at any early vote site in their county. Days and hours of operation will vary among sites and can be found at nvdems.com/early-vote.