LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — With 77 percent of precincts reporting, a majority of Nevada voters appear to have voted in favor of all three measures that appeared on the ballot on Tuesday.
Question 1 proposes a change to the Equality of Rights Amendment to the Nevada Constitution to prohibit discrimination "on account of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin."
If it passes, the amendment would be a permanent addition to Nevada's constitution, making it the most comprehensive and inclusive Equal Rights Amendment in the country.
As of Wednesday morning, Question 1 appears to have 57 percent of the votes in favor of it, and 43 percent against it.
Question 2 amends Nevada's minimum wage laws, allowing it to increase to $12 per hour and stop the existing annual adjustments determined by inflation. If it passes, all workers will receive $12 per hour, regardless of health benefits, starting in July 2024. If it fails, the previously existing increase to $11 per hour for employees with health benefits, and $12 per hour for employees without, will remain.
As of Wednesday morning, Question 2 appears to have 54 percent of the votes in favor of it, and 46 percent against it.
Question 3, which appears to be the most contentious measure, tackles two initiatives regarding voting: open primaries and ranked-choice voting.
Currently, Nevada holds closed primaries, which require voters to declare party affiliations before voting for one candidate for each elected office. If Question 3 passes, Nevadan voters will no longer have to declare party affiliations before Election Day and will rank candidates in order of preference.
"Everyone just casts one vote for the candidate that they want to support, and whichever candidate gets the top five most votes, those are the ones that move to the general [election]," UNLV political scientist Dan Lee told KTNV. "There's a first round of voting, where we count up everyone's first choices. If someone's first choice ends up coming in last place, then we move to their second choice, and we count their second choice as their vote. Then we re-tally all the votes."
As of Wednesday morning, Question 3 has 52 percent of the votes in favor of it, and 48 percent against it.
