What if there were an election, and nobody showed up?
Early voting has started for the June 9 primary and, to little surprise, interest among voters has been lukewarm, to be generous. This isn’t unusual for a primary election, particularly when Nevada features a closed system allowing only registered Republicans or Democrats to vote for their own party’s candidates. That typically leaves slim pickings for independent or third-party voters.
In the 2020 primary, only
27 percent of Clark County’s registered voters cast ballots. But the actual participation rate was even lower given that not every eligible adult is registered to vote. This year, early voting for the primary began Saturday, and the numbers at this point show no great mad dash to the polls.
That’s too bad, because there are a number of races that could be decided on June 9. Under Nevada law, if more than two candidates file for a non-partisan position, the race will be decided in the primary if one candidate secures at least 50 percent of the vote. If no candidate reaches that threshold, the top two vote-getters move on to the November election.
Potential winners this June include the candidates running for District Court judgeships in departments 13 and 26, along with those running to represent departments P, R and S in the Family Court Division. Two Las Vegas City Council races — for wards 2 and 6 — may also be decided in the primary. The same is true for a handful of other local municipal contests in North Las Vegas, Henderson and Mesquite.
These are all races in which any registered voter, regardless of political affiliation, may participate.
The primary also includes numerous partisan contests to determine the candidates who will represent each major political party in the November election for a slate of important offices. Democrats and Republicans will select standard-bearers for federal congressional races, the governor’s office and five other state constitutional positions, including attorney general.
In addition, state legislative candidates will be on the ballot in many districts, and so are hopefuls for lesser-known positions such as Clark County recorder or public administrator.
While the outcomes of some of the higher-profile contests — such as the race for the Democratic and Republican gubernatorial nominations — may seem pre-ordained, that is hardly the case for most of the ballot’s offerings. Some of the races will be decided by only a few votes, one way or the other. Let that be an incentive to exercise your civic prerogative. One vote really can make a difference.
