Turnout for municipal primaries falls below 10 percent

By April Corbin

Published Wednesday, April 5, 2017 | 1:06 p.m.

Updated Wednesday, April 5, 2017 | 6 p.m.

Less than 10 percent of registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s municipal primary elections.

Only 55,867 of 589,177 registered voters — 9.48 percent — in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City cast ballots. That’s fewer than in the 2015 municipal primary elections, which saw a voter turnout of 13.75 percent.

The majority of voters who participated — 28,489 — voted early; 19,257 turned out at voting centers on Election Day. The remaining 8,121 cast mail-in ballots.

Henderson reported that more voters cast ballots during early voting in this year’s municipal primary than in any election dating to the 1990s, when early voting was first offered.

Despite having the most predictable races, Henderson saw the best turnout at 12.46 percent. In 2015, voter turnout was 11.81 percent.

North Las Vegas saw a 7.73 percent turnout — a decrease from 9.38 percent turnout in 2015.

Las Vegas saw a massive dip in voting. Tuesday’s turnout was 7.67 percent. In 2015, it was 15.67 percent. However, that election cycle included the high-profile mayoral race between Carolyn Goodman and challenger Councilman Stavros Anthony.

In municipal primaries, candidates who receive 50 percent of the vote are declared the winner. If no candidate reaches 50 percent, the top two finishers move on to a runoff election, which will be June 13.

In 2015, all municipal elections were decided during the primary. This year, that isn’t the case. All three cities will have runoff elections.

In Las Vegas, Ward 4 Councilman Stavros Anthony was re-elected, but two other City Council races (Wards 2 and 6) will be decided in runoffs.

In Henderson, voters elected Councilwoman Debra March as the next mayor, but will choose the Ward 3 council member in a runoff.

In North Las Vegas, Mayor John J. Lee and Ward 1 Councilman Isaac Barron cruised to easy victories, but the Ward 3 council seat will be decided in a runoff.