Nevada has closed primary elections, which means people can only vote for candidates with the same political affiliation as their registration. Ballot Question 3 proposes to allow voters to cast their ballots for high-profile races regardless of party during the primary and add rank-choice voting for general elections.
What is currently in place in Nevada?
Nevada has closed primaries, which means voters can only cast a ballot for one candidate per race with the same party affiliation as their voter registration during primary elections. In general elections, Nevadans can vote for one candidate per race, regardless of party affiliation.
What would change if this measure passes?
Ballot Question 3 would create open primaries, which would allow voters to cast a ballot regardless of party, for top-ticket races, such as U.S. and state senators and representatives, governor and lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer and controller, excluding the president.
The top five candidates would then move to the general election, where voters would rank their choices from 1-5, or less, or none of the above. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the votes, they will be declared the winner. If not, the person with the least amount will be dropped, and those who ranked that candidate as their first choice will have their vote moved to their second, and votes will be re-tabulated.
What do supporters say?
Supporters say the measure would empower nonpartisan voters who can’t vote for high-profile partisan races during Nevada’s closed primary elections. Registered Republicans, Democrats and nonpartisan voters are pretty evenly split in Nevada, according to the Nevada Secretary of State.
Sondra Cosgrove, a history professor at the College of Southern Nevada and the head of a nonprofit focused on civics education called Vote Nevada, says the number of nonpartisan voters has been growing in response to polarizing and divisive politics, particularly amongst college students and veterans.
“That whole new group of nonpartisan [voters] is being shut out of a lot of our process during the primary because we’re a closed primary state,” said Cosgrove. “And I’ve been thinking, well, if we’re not hearing them, if their voices are absent, is that maybe one reason that we’re getting candidates that maybe we don’t feel really reflect all of us?”
To read the full article, visit the KUNR website. This story was written by Lucia Strarbuck for KUNR on October 18, 2022 and shared with Noticiero Noticiero Móvil.