Ahead of the 2024 presidential preference primaries and caucus in Nevada, KUNR answers four key questions about voting.
1. What are the Nevada 2024 presidential preference primaries and caucus?
The Democratic and Republican presidential preference primaries will be held on Feb. 6, 2024. A 2021 Nevada law requires that a presidential primary election be held for every major party.
Early voting for the presidential preference primaries begins Jan. 27 and runs through Feb. 2, 2024.
Unlike the Nevada Democratic primary, the results from the Nevada Republican primary on Feb. 6 are not binding. Republicans are holding a caucus on Feb. 8 to allocate the party’s delegates. There is no early voting option for the Republican caucus.
2. Is there both mail ballot and in-person voting?
Mail ballot voting: Mail ballots were sent out to all active voters registered as Democrats or Republicans, because those are the two major parties. You can check your voter status on the Nevada Secretary of State’s website here.
Mail ballots need to be delivered to a ballot box during early voting or by the close of polls on Election Day (Feb. 6) at 7 p.m. If you are in line to drop off your ballot by 7 p.m., you will be allowed to submit it.
You can also mail your ballot, it needs to have a postmark date of Feb. 6 or earlier and be received by your county no more than four days after the election. The deadline to request a mail ballot online for the presidential preference primary was Jan. 23.
In-person voting: You can participate in early voting in person for the presidential preference primaries Jan. 27 - Feb. 2, 2024. On Feb. 6, which is Presidential Preference Primary Election Day, voting centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. All voters who are in line by 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote, and can go to any voting center in the county in which they are registered.
You can look up voting center and ballot drop off locations on Washoe County Registrar of Voters website here and the Nevada Secretary of State’s website here.
Eligible military personnel living overseas and overseas citizens can vote absentee in the presidential preference primary. More information is available on the Federal Voting Assistance Program website.
The in-person Republican caucus is scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 8, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., according to the Nevada Republican Party website. Registered Republicans are required to vote in their respective precinct, a map of which is available on the Washoe County Republican Party website here. A Google Sheet of locations across the state is available on the Nevada Republican Party website here. To participate in the caucus, voters also need to present ID.
Absentee voting for the Republican caucus is only available to active duty military and voters with disabilities who require ADA accommodation. Reach out to the Nevada Republican Party or your county’s Republican party to learn more.
3. I’m registered as a non-partisan. Why didn’t I receive a ballot?
The Nevada presidential preference primary is a closed election, meaning only voters who are registered with the Democratic or Republican party are allowed to vote. The same is true for the Republican caucus.
However, individuals who want to vote in the primary can change their party affiliation by going to a polling center on Election Day (Feb. 6) or during early voting. You will also be required to present your ID, and the ballot you cast will be considered a provisional one. The same goes for those who want to register as a new voter.
The deadline to change affiliation to vote in the Republican caucus has passed - it was one month before the caucus takes place.
You can register to vote, update your voter information, or check your existing voter registration on the Nevada Secretary of State’s website here.
4. Why are some candidates for the Republican party not on the presidential preference primary ballot?
In 2023, the Nevada Republican Party approved a party-run caucus that excludes candidates who run in primary elections, but must still hold a presidential preference primary due to the 2021 Nevada law.
Candidates, including former President Donald Trump, have chosen to participate in the GOP caucus as opposed to the primary, and for that reason are not listed on the presidential preference primary ballot.
Candidates including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley are on the presidential preference primary ballot and will not be included in the Republican caucus.
Additional resources:
Do you have election-related questions or comments to share with KUNR? Take our short elections survey via Google Forms to help inform our coverage, in English or Spanish.
The most recent episode of Purple Politics Nevada with KUNR’s Lucia Starbuck provides an in-depth explanation of what voters can expect at the presidential preference primaries and caucus.
A timeline of the 2024 Nevada elections is available on the Washoe County Registrar of Voters website. Statewide election information is available on the Nevada Secretary of State’s website.
