LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Early voting starts on Saturday, and the airwaves have been flooded with political ads for and against Question 3 — which addresses open primaries and rank-choice voting.
But, what does that mean? You've been calling our newsroom to ask for help so you can make an informed decision at the ballot box, and I wanted to try to get some answers for you.
Let's start with the open primaries part of the question.
Here's how it works right now: Nevada has closed primaries. That means only registered Democrats can vote for Democratic candidates in the primary election, and only registered Republicans can vote for Republican candidates in the primary election.
Non-partisan voters — who make up about a third of all voters in the state — cannot vote in the primary election.
Julian Herrera is one of those voters.
"I feel like since we are the largest voter group, we should have some allowance to vote in that," Herrera told me.
If Question 3 is passed in the upcoming election, Nevada's primaries would become open — meaning anyone can vote for any candidate, regardless of your or their party affiliation.
I also talked to Sondra Cosgrove to see if she could help break down Question 3 for voters. She's a CSN history professor, but also the executive director of Vote Nevada, a nonprofit focused on civics education in the Silver State.
"Usually people call it the open primaries, rank-choice ballot question," Cosgrove said.
"It has two parts: the first part addresses the fact that over 40% of our registered voters are not registered Democrats or Republicans. They are either non-partisan or minor party— yet, all of our top-of-the-ticket races in the primary are closed: you have to be a Democrat or Republican to vote in them. That means the majority of taxpayers are prohibited from voting in the primary."
The second part of Question 3 is rank-choice voting.
In rank-choice voting, you have the option to rank your top five candidates rather than voting for just one. I asked Cosgrove to explain how it works.
"In general, you would rank up. To win, candidates need to get more than 50% of the votes," Cosgrove said. "If no one gets 50%, the candidate with the least amount of votes is eliminated. The votes are then re-tabulated using your second preference. That process continues until someone gets 50%."
If you want more information, our senior political reporter, Steve Sebelius, explained what all of the ballot questions — including Question 3 — would do. You can find his Ballot Question Guide here.
Local News
What are these questions on my ballot? Nevada's ballot questions explained
Early voting in the 2024 General Election starts on Saturday, Oct. 19 for Nevadans. You can find a polling place in your neighborhood with our Neighborhood Voting Map here.
Local News
2024 Election: Your full guide on where to cast your vote in Clark County
If you have questions about the election, politics or government in Nevada, you can Ask Steve and he'll try to get that answer for you.
Local News
