Multiple Republican contests cause confusion
In 2024, Nevada Republicans will have the chance to cast their votes in both a primary and a caucus to determine their party’s nominee for President of the United States, while the Democrats will only have the option of participating in a primary.
AB126, drafted and passed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers in the Nevada Legislature in 2021 and approved by then Gov. Steve Sisolak, mandated the state to hold a presidential preference primary on the first Tuesday in February during a presidential election year.
That bill replaces the old caucus system which had been under the spotlight since 2008, when Nevada became an early nominating state in both the GOP and Democratic party’s nominating calendar.
The confusion for such a move has been intense as some Republicans have resisted the change and have fought since the bill passed to keep their nominating process in the caucus format for 2024.
When researching the Nevada nominating process since 2008, both political parties have undergone a shift in their perspective on the matter.
In a 2015 article, Michael McDonald, the Nevada GOP Chairman and advocate for Nevada to remain a caucus state, voiced his support for the Nevada GOP to switch to a primary system instead of a caucus. He described the 2012 nominating process as a “complete disaster and embarrassment to the state.” He said the benefit of a primary is “getting more people involved.”
During the 78th (2015) Session of the Nevada Legislature, the Republican party held the majority in both the Assembly and Senate. The Assembly and Senate both considered bills that prepared to transition Nevada from a caucus system to a primary system, and even Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval was open to the change.
The bills introduced in 2015 prompted Nevada Democrats to voice their worries about the switch from a caucus to a primary, fearing it would compromise the state’s status as an early state in the nomination calendar.
Those bills did not move forward.
Ultimately, a group of lawmakers from both parties successfully passed AB126 as law in the 81st Session of the Nevada Legislature in 2021, marking a notable shift in the stance of Democrats and Republicans since 2015. Nevada is now required by law to conduct a state-run primary for both parties.
The confusion comes into play because of the Nevada GOP’s insistence on keeping the caucus format. Legally, the Republican Party may nominate their candidate in any format they choose to allocate delegates, but Nevada law still requires the state to hold a primary in conjunction with the caucus.
Consequently, Republicans in Nevada will have two opportunities to vote for their preferred presidential candidate. However, only the caucus will allocate delegates representing voters as they move forward in the nomination process, culminating in the GOP National Convention in July.
Besides the challenge of dealing with multiple elections within a short time frame, the Republican presidential candidates had to choose between participating in either the primary or the caucus and could not appear on both ballots. This has led to some candidates choosing to appear on the caucus ballot and some appearing on the primary ballot.
Registered Republican voters are allowed to vote in both the Republican primary and caucus.
Only one contest for Democrats
The only voting option for Nevada Democrats to support their preferred presidential candidate is the new presidential preference primary system.
There will be 13 candidates appearing on the ballot in the Democratic presidential preference primary, including the incumbent President Joe Biden.
How to vote?
Republican Caucus:
The Republican caucus is Thursday, Feb. 8 from 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Registered Republican voters were required to register as Republican 30 days prior to the caucus, but the deadline has already passed.
In order to take part in the caucus, registered Republican voters must show a government-issued ID before the caucus begins. Votes will be cast in secret using paper ballots with observation by all voters as the votes are tabulated. Voters can cast their ballot and leave, or stay to observe the votes being tallied.
This link provides the caucus locations by precinct.
Here is where registered Republicans can find their precinct information based on their address.
Donald Trump and Ryan Binkley appear on the caucus ballot as of the writing of this article.
Republican and Democratic Presidential Preference Primary:
The 2024 Presidential Preference Primary Election is Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024.
Early voting begins on Saturday, Jan. 27 and runs through Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
The primary will be familiar to voters as it is the normal process for the state’s elections using mail-in ballots or casting a ballot at a voting booth.
Nevada primary ballots will also have an option called “none of these candidates” for voters who don’t want to support any specific candidate but still wish to participate.
Here is the list of the polling locations for the primaries.
Voters need to register as Democrat or Republican to participate in their party’s primary. Voters can register to vote online here, or may use the same-day voter registration process at the time of check-in at a polling location.
If a voter has a mail-in ballot that was sent to them, those voters may use the mail-in ballot system to cast their ballot.
Voters who choose to send their ballot by mail must have it postmarked on or before Election Day (Feb. 6) and also must be received by the Election Department on or before 5 p.m. on the fourth day after Election Day (Feb. 10).
Voters can drop off their mail-in ballot at a mail ballot drop box using the locations of those drop boxes listed on the mail-in ballot.
For all mail-in ballots either mailed or using a drop box, the ballot must be sealed inside the postage-paid return envelope provided specifically for the voter, showing the voter’s name and address, and the voter must also sign the outside of that envelope before mailing or placing it in the drop box. Do not put a mail ballot in another voter’s return envelope.
Here is the posted list of candidates who have filed for the Presidential Preference Primary.
Field Reportage is a reader-supported, independent e-newsletter and blog written by on the Substack platform by Trevor Bexon. It is reposted by This Is Reno with his permission.
