Allegiant Stadium makes Election Day history as voting location

Residents lined up early Tuesday morning outside Allegiant Stadium patiently waiting for the gates to open.

But they weren’t waiting for a football game or concert. Rather, it was to participate in democracy by voting.

Allegiant Stadium, for the first time since it was opened in 2020, was a voting location. The line, which stretched outside the doors of the south entrance, was massive.

Many of the voters were decked out in Las Vegas Raiders gear, some saying they showed up as early as 5 a.m. — two hours before polls opened in Clark County — to vote inside the football stadium.

Light blue-walled voting booths lined the entry-level concourse.

“Taxpayers have paid for that facility, and most Nevadans can’t afford to go in it, but if they have the opportunity to see it through a voting process, hopefully that motivates a new voter, or somebody who’s chosen not to vote previously,” Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar told the Sun.

A Raiders-branded photo booth was set up at the exit, where voters could wave signs saying “I Voted,” “Show Up Big” and “#NFLVotes.”

It was all part of a special initiative by the National Football League to encourage the fan base to cast their ballots.

Voters at Allegiant Stadium received a special souvenir “I Voted” sticker, featuring two different designs of Allegiant Stadium along with some of the Strip’s most iconic buildings and the Las Vegas Raiders’ crest painted in silver and black.

Elizabeth Garcia, 28, was the first car in line outside of the parking lot near the stadium’s south entrance at 5 a.m. She and a friend, who both work part-time as retail associates for the Raiders, said they wanted to cast their ballots early, and pick up their own souvenir stickers as Raiders fans.

Though it’s not the first time Garcia has voted in a presidential election, she said this one was so important because of everything at stake, especially regarding women’s reproductive rights. Women fear Republican nominee former President Donald Trump would continue to limit abortion access.

Getting to cast her ballot at Allegiant Stadium was also a huge pull, she added.

“It’s a really big election, especially right now with everything that’s going on, (so) I’m just trying to hope for better change whoever gets elected,” Garcia said. “The biggest (concern I have) is women’s rights (and) everything that’s going on with choices about our own body and everything.”

Though they didn’t show up two hours before the polls opened, husband and wife Sonny and Ashlyn Sparks were more than excited to cast their ballots inside Allegiant Stadium.

The couple, who have been married for six years and said they had voted since they were both age 18, moved to Las Vegas in December but still vividly remember their first date — a Raiders game in Oakland, Calif., in Sonny’s home state.

It was a full-circle moment for them, Ashlyn Sparks said, voting for the first time as married Las Vegas residents in the Raiders’ stadium.

The couple picked a bipartisan slate of candidates and said it was important to vote for politicians based on their priorities and not political party.

“It was important to come out and vote, get your voice heard, and get the right people for what you line up with politically, and get them in place … and make sure that things can all work for the people and be by the people, not just for the government,” Sonny Sparks said. “Politics are not football teams. You don’t have to stay on one side; you have to make sure that both sides work together.”

The couple lauded Clark County’s handling of the voting process at Allegiant Stadium.

Ashlyn Sparks, 39, said she received an email from the NFL about Allegiant Stadium being a polling place, and immediately knew where the two would vote Tuesday.

Seeing most everyone in their Raiders or Vegas Golden Knights gear — including the Sparkses, who were dressed head to toe in Raiders merchandise — became “a very come-together moment” for the couple.

They were in the stadium and cast their ballots within an hour once polls opened.

Ashlyn Sparks also said she liked the state’s use of the digital ballots, the synopses provided for ballot questions and the ability to print a ballot to verify choices on paper before casting it electronically.

“I feel like Nevada did a really good job of combating concerns that voters had … so it’s nice to be in a state that hears that and goes, here’s a result, and that’s a great system,” Ashlyn Sparks said. “To get in and out, I think it just reiterates to people: Show up because a few hours today can be years of results later.”

Some special guests made appearances at the voting site as well, including Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft — who oversees the district in which Allegiant Stadium sits — and U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., who was up for reelection against Republican challenger Sam Brown.

Pointing to the building behind her, Rosen said there was “no place better” than Allegiant Stadium because “labor built this house.” She noted that residents were voting to also protect the community’s ability to grow and thrive.

“Labor built this house right here, and that’s where we’re voting; to protect labor, to protect women, to protect our freedom to keep our health care and to have the opportunity to grow and thrive, and that’s what we’re doing today,” Rosen said.

 

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