LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — It's a common question among Las Vegas residents: Why is the race for Las Vegas mayor not on my ballot?
The answer is simple but also confusing.
We all live in Clark County, Nevada, which encompasses the entire southern tip of the state. Within Clark County, there are five incorporated cities, all of which have city councils and mayors.
On the list: Las Vegas (Nevada's largest city, by the way), Henderson (second-largest), North Las Vegas (No. 3), Boulder City and Mesquite.
If you live in one of those cities, you can vote for members of the city council and for the mayor.
But if you live outside of one of those cities, you're really a resident of unincorporated Clark County. While your mail still comes to a "Las Vegas" address, you're not actually a resident of the incorporated city of Las Vegas.
That means you can't vote in the mayor's race.
It doesn't mean you don't have representation: County residents select the seven members of the Clark County Commission, who govern the unincorporated areas the way city councils govern the cities. (The county also oversees regional services such as the airport, the courts, the jail and University Medical Center.)
There is no such thing as a county "mayor;" members of the commission take turns serving as chair.
The jurisdictional borders can get very confusing, however.
The city's southern boundary runs roughly along Sahara Avenue, although it dips down to Desert Inn Road near The Lakes. That means a person who lives on the north side of Sahara can vote for mayor, but a neighbor on the south side cannot. Parts of Summerlin — including Summerlin West — are in the city, but parts of Summerlin South are not.
To make matters more confusing, there are "islands" of land completely surrounded by city territory that remain under the jurisdiction of the county. If you're in one of those islands, you can't vote for members of the council or the mayor, although nearby residents who aren't on the "island" can.
(Annexation of these islands from the county into the city has been a controversial subject in the past. So has consolidation, which would see the city of Las Vegas and Clark County merge into one giant municipal entity, similar to the way the old Las Vegas Police Department and Clark County Sheriff's Department merged to form the Metropolitan Police Department in 1973. While the Metro merger is 50 years old, further discussions of consolidation have proved fruitless. But a merged city-county government would let everyone in Clark County vote for the "mayor" of the new government.)
To find out whether you live in the actual, incorporated city of Las Vegas — or just the generic Las Vegas that is the entirety of Clark County — you can consult online maps, or you can enter your address into Clark County's commission district finder. If you see the name of a city council member, you're a genuine city resident, and can vote in the mayor's race.
And for those of you who are city residents, remember: If none of the 14 candidates on the primary ballot wins 50 percent plus one vote in Tuesday's election, the top two vote-getters advance to the general election on Nov. 5. But if one candidate does manage to top the 50 percent threshold, the race is over.
If you have a question about politics, elections or government, you can Ask Steve via the link on our website. He will endeavor to answer your questions on air or online.
