Early voting begins in Las Vegas Valley as over 22K cast ballots

Lines were winding and parking lots were overflowing Saturday as Las Vegas voters proudly cast their ballots on the first day of Nevada’s general election.

After months of campaigning and a barrage of political advertisements, early, in-person voting finally arrived at dozens of locations, including shopping centers, libraries and community centers across Southern Nevada on Saturday, and it continues until Nov. 1. Voters have a variety of reasons for casting their ballots early; some don’t want to risk potential long lines on Election Day on Nov. 5, others didn’t want to deal with any other unexpected hiccups.

“I want to make sure my vote is counted before all the craziness starts in November,” said Lorraine Sroka, 40, of North Las Vegas, who was voting for her second time at Craig Regional Park.

By 1 p.m. Saturday, about 13,300 people had checked into a polling center to vote in person, according to Stephanie Wheatley, spokesperson for the Clark County Election Department. By 3 p.m., that number had grown to 22,000. Final numbers for early voting, which ended at some sites at 8 p.m., weren’t available by publication time.

While lines had formed in the morning at the voting sites the Review-Journal visited, those lines were either moving relatively quickly or they had abated and voters were able to walk in and out by the late morning and early afternoon.

Nevada continues to be a major player on the national political stage, with analysts calling it one of the battleground states that could sway the result of the presidential election. Former President Donald Trump’s campaign scheduled a press conference alongside congressional candidates Sam Brown and Drew Johnson on Saturday while former President Barack Obama was set to headline an evening rally.

Robin Degrange, a 60-year-old Las Vegas Republican, cast a vote for Former President Donald Trump on Saturday at the Thunderbird Family Sports Complex in northwest Las Vegas.

“You have to make sure your vote is counted,” Degrange said, adding that she has doubts about the validity of the last presidential election. Trump, the Republican candidate for president, and others in the party have falsely claimed the 2020 election was stolen, though experts maintain there’s no concrete evidence of voter fraud.

For others, early voting is a routine.

“We’ve always done it,” said Linda Dei, 70, who voted for Trump early on Saturday. “On the first day, we’re here.”

Related: Review-Journal 2024 Voter Guide

Val Steele, 56, of Las Vegas, is a registered independent but said she’s felt energized by Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the Democratic ticket for president. She eagerly snapped a photo of her “I Voted” sticker when leaving the Silverado Ranch Community Center after joining the line promptly at 9 a.m.

The process was quick and easy, she said. While Steele said she has no doubts about sending in a mail-in ballot, she was excited to show her support in person.

“We just have to beat Trump’s lies,” Steele said. “I need to be on the right side of history.”

Lisa Garrett, 61, has voted early since 1998. Her vote went to Harris as well on Saturday.

“It’s more about just doing the right thing, thinking of others,” said Garrett, a Black Las Vegas voter who emphasized women’s health care as a key issue this election.

‘Excited to see a woman on the ticket’

Sroka said her family moved to the U.S. from the Philippines 20 years ago, and that she wanted to get her ballot in before Election Day. She voted for Trump, she said.

“I’m not really a Democrat or Republican, but my beliefs align with what he is saying,” she explained.

When asked why he decided to vote early, Michael Pabua, 32, said he just wanted to “get it over with.”

Pabua, who is also Filipino-American, declined to share which candidate he voted for because he worried about backlash. However, he did say that he mostly leans conservative.

“Ultimately, I’m going to vote for the politician that fits my values, regardless of party,” Pabua told the Review-Journal outside a voting center on Blue Diamond Road. “Today, it feels like if you choose a side, you will be ostracized for it.”

Jaime George, 28, and Andrea Guzman, 25, also cast their votes at the South West Valley polling site. They said it was important to do it together and in person rather than mail in their ballots.

“I know many of my friends and family are very excited to see a woman on the ticket,” Guzman said. “We are excited for a change. That’s why I’m out here early voting.”

Meanwhile, Hunter Galindo, 27, chose to drop her ballot off on Saturday afternoon. Calling herself “old-fashioned,” she said, she had multiple reasons to opt out of electronic polling. Most importantly, she said, she wanted to avoid waiting in long lines and actually mark her vote, for Harris, she said, in ink.

“I just figured it’d be easier to do mail-in,” Galindo said. She added that although she is currently a Nevada resident, she is moving to California soon and “didn’t want to run the risk” of being unable to participate in this year’s election due to last-minute residency changes.

Wheatley confirmed that Galindo was legally eligible to vote here, given that she had lived in Nevada for 30 days before the election. Additionally, she said Galindo would be ineligible to vote in California because she had already submitted a ballot in Nevada.

Kelly McCargo, 53, of North Las Vegas, voted early at Craig Regional Park. The veteran said he has been casting absentee ballots for 21 years while in the military, but having returned to civilian life, he was still not used to voting at a polling site.

“I’ve been watching the election coverage, some of the debates,” McCargo said, “I don’t trust Donald Trump in any shape or form.”

What to know about voting going forward

Clark County had 1,436,143 registered voters as of Monday, all of whom can vote at any early voting site, as long as it’s before Election Day.

Polling locations allow for same-day registration with unexpired Nevada identification cards or documentation with a current address. Voters can update their current registration on-site.

“We know that voters have little time,” Clark County Registrar of Voters Lorena Portillo said last week. “Everybody works, goes to school, has children. So we have to make sure the voting process at the polls is easy, it’s fast, it’s convenient.”

Portillo, who heads the election department, said Clark County strives for a smooth process and hopes to improve it this time around through increased equipment and staffing.

The presidential race isn’t the only critical election on the ballot this year: Nevada’s 2024 ballot is particularly long.

“We have seven state ballot questions, Henderson has two more questions on top of that, and Boulder City has one more,” Portillo said.

The sample ballot, which Portillo recommended going through before voting, should clarify most questions.

If it doesn’t, Portillo encouraged anyone to call the Election Department for further clarification at 702-455-8683.

“We just want to make it easy for them to exercise their right to vote,” Portillo said. “We’re always here to help them. We want them.”