Nevada's early voting numbers suggest shift to mail votes
CARSON CITY — With more than two weeks until the election, more than twice as many Nevada voters have returned ballots by mail than in the entire 2016 election.
Nearly 176,000 voters have returned ballots mailed to them in early October, election officials reported Monday. In 2016, less than 79,000 voters cast ballots absentee or in all-mail precincts.
The unprecedented shift toward voting by mail comes two months after state lawmakers passed Assembly Bill 4, which requires election officials to automatically send all active voters mail-in ballots to ensure people afraid of venturing to precincts amid the pandemic could access the vote.
In prior elections, Nevada voters have shown a strong preference for early voting at in-person precincts in the two weeks leading up to Election Day. In 2016, 62% of Nevada voters cast ballots early. During the first two days of early voting that year, about 92,000 voters cast ballots.
Early voting began throughout Nevada on Saturday and, during the first two days, more than 45,000 voters cast ballots in-person. Vote centers will remain open for early voting until Oct. 30.
Based on ballots already returned, the share of voters who cast ballots early, by mail and on Election Day is likely to be different than prior elections, Washoe County Registrar of Voters Deanna Spikula said.
https://lasvegassun.com/news/2020/oct/19/nevadas-early-voting-numbers-suggest-shift-mail-vo/
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