(Photo: Ronda Churchill/Nevada Current)
More than 550,000 ballots had been accepted by the end of the first week of early voting, according to a report from the Secretary of State’s Office.
This puts turnout so far at 28% of eligible registered voters, with one week of in-person early voting and Election Day still ahead. By state law, mail ballots can be received and counted up to four days past Election Day, as long as they were postmarked by Election Day.
More than half — 56% — of voters so far used a mail ballot, further showcasing the popularity of the vote by mail option , which Nevada implemented in 2020 as a response to covid then made permanent in 2021.
In 2020, only 7% of voters physically cast their ballots.
In 2016, the last presidential election before the switch to universal mail ballots, 62% of turnout occurred during early voting, and only 6% was via mail (also known as absentee). The rest of the votes were cast on Election Day.
Mirroring previous elections, Democrats are showing a stronger preference for mail ballots than Republicans. Two-thirds, 66%, of Democratic turnout so far has been mail, compared to 44% of Republican turnout.