A person drops off a ballot to vote in Nevada’s presidential preference primary at the Desert Breeze Community Center polling site Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024.
Saturday, May 25, 2024 | 3:13 p.m.
Many across the nation started a three-day weekend today in observance of Memorial Day.
For some Nevadans, there was one thing at the top of the holiday to-do list: Vote. Polls opened today for early voting in the primary election for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House and local jurisdictions.
For 20-year-old Riana Barrett, one of the first to vote at the Desert Breeze Community Center, casting a ballot in the primary required a deep dive into every race.
“I look up every single candidate, and I make sure that they follow what I follow, or they want to change what I want to change, rather than just ‘Oh, I know them,’” said Barrett, who voted after a morning swim at the community center pool.
Early voters made up just under 24% of voters in the 2022 primary election, according to the Nevada Secretary of State’s office. Mail-in ballots, which will be received by election officials until four days after Election Day on June 11, represented over 50% of voters in 2022 and almost 75% in February’s presidential primary.
Steve Hoy, who has lived in Las Vegas for over 50 years, said this is the first time he and his wife haven’t waited to vote on Election Day, because he wants to make sure candidates understand what is at stake.
"Hopefully, there'll be enough of us to see that we all want to change,” Hoy said. “We’re voting early because we definitely want change.”
Security at the southern United States border and the high cost of living are his motivation for voting, Hoy said.
It’s a similar narrative for other voters — in Nevada and nationally. How to handle the border, economy and protecting women’s reproductive rights are issues most likely to define the following five months of campaigning for all candidates.
In November, voters will return to pick a president — a race between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump that might be decided in swing-state Nevada. The message on Saturday by those who showed up at the polls: Every vote matters.
“I vote to be able to have my voice heard, because it's kind of scary, what's happening during the general election,” said Kim Mora, a registered Democrat who has called Las Vegas home for two decades.
Early voting ends June 7, and same-day voter registration is available at the polls for Nevadans with state-issued identification.
Check out the Sun’s early voting guide with a list of polling locations.
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