Volunteers Calvin Border and Marsha Lynch count ballots Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, at the Western High School Republican caucus site.
Friday, Sept. 29, 2023 | 2 a.m.
Nevada’s presidential primary election may not be until February, but state and local officials are already working to inform voters about the various means being used by the major political parties in Nevada to select their candidate for the November 2024 general election.
The Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee on Participatory Democracy, a nonpartisan panel established to increase public engagement in election processes, met Thursday to allow members of the Nevada Democratic and Republican parties to explain how they are preparing to engage voters ahead of the Feb. 6 state-operated Presidential Preference Primary, or PPP.
Nevada law directs the state to conduct a primary for both major political parties if two or more candidates file for the party’s nomination.
The Nevada GOP last week finalized plans to have a party-run caucus Feb. 8, while Nevada State Democratic Party executive director Hilary Barrett told the panel it would award its delegates based on results from the Feb. 6 primary. Both the primary and the caucus will only be open to registered Democrats and Republicans, and Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar is urging Nevada voters to update their voter registration information if they wish to participate.
“Given what we have in ’24 with three statewide elections, it’s going to be critical to educate voters about each of those elections,” said Aguilar, alluding to the PPP in addition the June 11 primary for state offices and the Nov. 5 general election.
“I think there are significant opportunities to have both (a primary and a caucus),” Aguilar continued. “Again, it’s going to make sure we educate the voter as to what that vote means and how they cast their ballot, or whether they participate in the caucus.”
Monday marks the start of the filing period for candidates vying for president to appear on Nevada primary ballots. The filing period runs through Oct. 16. So far, five candidates have scheduled appointments through the secretary of state’s online appointment system, Mark Wlaschin, deputy secretary of state for elections, told the committee.
“It is rapidly approaching,” Wlaschin said.
Wlaschin wasn’t able to say who has scheduled appointments, but the Democratic field consists of incumbent President Joe Biden, as well as outsiders Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and author and spiritualist Marianne Williamson. More than a dozen Republicans are running , including former President Donald Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, businessman Vivek Ramaswamy.
Jim DeGraffenreid, Nevada’s Republican national committeeman, told the panel caucus attendance had “significantly” increased since 2008, when Nevada was deemed “First in the West,” peaking around 75,000 voters in 2016 — an increase of 17.8% in that span.
“Prior to that, Nevadans did not make their voice heard either by caucus or primary until well after other states had already determined for us who that candidate would be,” DeGraffenreid said. “In 2024 we’re going to continue our longstanding tradition of holding the caucus, and it will be the only binding method for delegate allocation.”
In August, the Sun reported the Nevada GOP was warning that candidates who participated in the state’s Republican presidental preference primary would not be able to participate in the caucus, which party officials say will determine which delegates attend the Republican National Convention, July 15-18 in Milwaukee.
Republicans have spent the past several months resisting the transition to a primary system, which was instituted with then-Gov. Steve Sisolak’s signing of Assembly Bill 126 into law during the 2021 Nevada legislative session. The party has taken issue with voting mechanisms, such as same-day voter registration and vote by mail, instituted in recent years by the Democratic-controlled Legislature.
DeGraffenreid told the panel the Nevada GOP favors its own caucuses because it can feature voter identification and precinct-based voting, as well as “timely and transparent” counting of ballots.
“At its very simplest, a caucus is a gathering of neighbors and friends by precinct who get together to discuss politics and the party platform, and also to elect delegates to the county convention,” DeGraffenreid said. “The county convention, in turn, will elect delegates to the state convention, and the state convention will elect delegates to the national convention.”
Aguilar, a Democrat, told reporters he wished Republican officials would have engaged with the state earlier on its preferred nominating convention to avoid confusing voters, but he is committed to making sure constituents check in with the party if they wish to caucus.
“I think its really up to the party to really educate its voters and its members about how this process works and what the expectations are,” Aguilar said.
With the passage of AB 126, the state must prepare presidential preference party ballots for each major political party. The primaries themselves, however, are “closed” meaning only voters registered as a Democrat can participate in the Democratic presidential preference primary, and only registered Republicans can take part in the GOP’s primary.
In a caucus system, voting is conducted at local precincts where a registered voters of the party conducting the caucus often either raise their hands or break into groups according to a candidate participant’s support. A party may also opt to make the voting secret.
In May, Sigal Chattah, Nevada’s Republican national committeewoman, filed a lawsuit against the state and Aguilar, in his capacity as secretary of state, contending that with enactment of AB 126, the Nevada Republican Party’s freedom of expression would be hampered, thus violating its First Amendment rights. Chattah is an attorney.
Last month, Carson City District Judge James Russell ruled against the state Republican Party. Chattah on Wednesday appealed the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court, and the case remains ongoing.
The Nevada GOP has committed to engaging voters in several ways to encourage them to vote in the caucus, and not the primary if there is one, DeGraffenreid said. That includes internal requirements to publish caucus information in newspapers across all 17 of Nevada’s counties, public announcements, text messages to registered Republicans, visits and phone calls to voters through field organization, email alerts, and up-to-date information to state and county party websites.
“Our filing deadline matches the state’s deadline,” DeGraffenreid said. “We have multiple candidates who have either already filed or have committed to file during the filing period.”
The secretary of state’s office reported earlier this month nonpartisans make up the largest share of active registered voters in Nevada, with 611,889, or 32% of the active voter rolls. That compares to 601,000 (31.6%) who identify as Democrats and 551,000 (28.9%) labeled as Republicans.
Registering with a partyisessential for being able to participate in the presidential nominating process, Aguilar said. But it’s also important in case a mistake on the ballot needs to be corrected or “cured,” and local officials can contact you.
“The greatest thing for a voter to do now is to check their voter registration,” Aguilar said. “(Make sure) their address is up to date, make sure registration is up to date, and that they actually have filed an email address with the office because when it comes to ballot curing, we need to make sure we’re able to get ahold of a voter within a timely manner so that their votes count in this process.”
