Early voting shows gain in popularity

Nearly four times as many people voted early in Clark County for Tuesday's statewide primary election than in 1996.

Over a two-week period that ended Friday, 43,312 people voted early, compared to 11,103 who did so two years ago. The early birds this time included 20,935 Republicans, 19,791 Democrats and 2,586 nonpartisan voters.

Voters this year will choose the state's six constitutional officers, including governor and attorney general. A U.S. Senate seat will also be contested, as will Nevada's two congressional posts and a variety of county offices.

Kathryn Ferguson, the county's registrar of voters, has said she believes county turnout for the primary would be about 30 percent, or 139,740 of the 465,801 active voters eligible to participate in the election. If that projection holds up, and Ferguson has indicated it's only a guess, the early voting would represent about 31 percent of the vote.

Meadows Mall, with 9,591 ballots cast, was the most popular place to vote early. That was followed by the Galleria Mall, 7,508, Boulevard Mall, 6,796, Clark County Government Center, 3,601, Belz Factory Outlet World, 3,387, and Fashion Show Mall, 2,031. Voters also cast ballots with four mobile units set up by the county election department.

An additional 15,000 ballots also were mailed back to the county's election department, about 11 percent of the projected voter turnout.

For those who didn't vote early, the election department is encouraging people to check the back of their sample ballots for their designated polling place location and map. Voters who didn't receive a sample ballot may call the election department today at 455-8683 to find out where they should vote.

Because of growth, 93 new polling places have been added this year, and some polling places may have changed since the previous election.

Polls will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The election department recommends that people bring their sample ballots to the polls with their choices already made in order to shorten the time it takes to vote.

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