It total turnout is comparable to the last two presidential election years, about two-thirds of Nevadans who will vote have already done so, and perhaps as many as half a million voters will cast ballots, either in person or by mail, Tuesday. (Photo: Ronda Churchill/Nevada Current)
As of Monday night, Republicans had cast 42,238 more votes than Democrats in Nevada.
Cumulative totals released by the Nevada Secretary of State’s office showed that of 1,089,092 votes, 37.7% of them had been cast by Republicans, 33.8% by Democrats, and 28.6% by nonpartisan and third party voters.
The totals include votes cast in person during the early voting period that ended Friday as well as mail ballots received and processed Monday.
The million-plus votes cast so far represent 53.5% of Nevada registered.
A little more than three-fourths of Nevada registered voters cast ballots in the last two presidential election cycles – 77% in 2016 and 78% in 2020.
A similar turnout this year would mean about two-thirds of Nevadans who will vote have already done so, and perhaps as many as half a million voters will cast ballots, either in person or by mail, Tuesday.
On Election Day in 2020, – the covid election and the first with universal mail ballots – 157,996 people voted in person in Nevada. But more than twice that number – 344,470 – voted in person on Election Day four years earlier in 2016.
Last week officials with the Secretary of State’s office noted that during this June’s primary the single day that most mail ballots were received was the day after Election Day, because so many people deposit their mail ballot in the mail or in a drop box on Election Day.
Mail ballots are already being counted, and county election officials can begin counting early in person votes at 8 a.m. on the morning of Election Day.
In 2020, the Nevada presidential race was not called by media decision desks until the Saturday after Election Day, because of the close margins separating Donald Trump and Joe Biden and the significant numbers of mail ballots that had not been counted by the end of Election Day.
New procedures have officials optimistic that this year it won’t take as long for Nevada – and the nation – to know who won the state.