Tuesday’s Nevada presidential preference primary was a test for the state in terms of how to disseminate results faster and handle its first presidential primaries, as well as what happens when political campaigns opt to ignore the purple Silver State. President Joe Biden easily won Nevada’s Democratic primary, and while the GOP primary results were irrelevant (as the party prepares for its Thursday caucuses, in which former President Donald Trump is all but guaranteed to win), 13% of registered Republicans also participated, with the majority choosing “none of these candidates” over Nikki Haley.
In an interview with NewsWire on Wednesday, Haley said, “We knew months ago that we weren’t gonna spend a day or a dollar in Nevada because it wasn’t worth it, and so we didn’t even count Nevada. That wasn’t anything we were looking at. We knew that was rigged from the start.” Her campaign has promised to press on. The primaries were originally expected to have lower voter turnout, with Biden likely to win the Democratic primary and Trump competing in the caucuses. Still, over 182,000 voters voted in the primaries, or a 16% participation percentage, according to Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar.
The majority of voters used a mail ballot, indicating that the 2021-era automatic mail ballot method has been adopted more widely
Although the 2022 primary election had a 25% voter turnout, Aguilar said Tuesday’s primary cannot be compared to others because it is the first presidential primary held in the state since the Legislature opted to eliminate caucuses in 2021. The secretary of state emphasized that it is crucial to remember that Nevada’s largest voting bloc, nonpartisans, did not vote. According to Aguilar, the majority of voters used a mail ballot, indicating that the 2021-era automatic mail ballot method has been adopted more widely. Nevada voters have expressed dissatisfaction with the simultaneous holding of a primary and caucuses.
On Tuesday, a Trump supporter labelled the scenario absurd. “It’s a waste of time,” remarked Philip Lorea, 70, from Summerlin. Aguilar stated that his administration was concerned that the confusion caused by the dual primary and caucuses may force voters to abandon the process altogether. The state-mandated primaries served important purposes, he said. For one, it’s a crucial democratic value to give the opportunity for a voter to participate in the electoral process, he said.
“It’s also important to recognize the fact that Nevada has an opportunity to set the agenda and set the tone for the November presidential election,” Aguilar said in a phone interview Wednesday. “And that’s what this is about, people recognizing the importance of Nevada, and why we matter throughout the country.”
He believes Nevada represents what the United States looks like, and it is critical to understand how the West feels. With 11 of the state’s 17 county clerks new, Aguilar explained that the primary also provided an opportunity for them to administer an election before the larger primary in June and the November general election. It was also used to assess counties’ capacity to tabulate results more quickly. In the 2022 midterms, the Silver State received global criticism for taking longer than other states to release results. Aguilar, elected in 2022, has stressed improving counties’ ability to count more quickly.
The Nevada Republican Party reserved 42 Clark County School District facilities for the caucuses, which cost a total of $8,558
By 11:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Washoe County had processed 90% of its ballots, according to Aguilar, and Clark County had processed more than 90% by Wednesday morning. He recognizes that it was a smaller election, but the state must continue to expand its capacity to release results more rapidly for the June primary, he added. “I think there’s opportunity to be more efficient in that process,” he told reporters. Aguilar stated that it is too early to determine how much the principal operating costs will be. The secretary of state’s office budgeted $5.2 million during the legislative session, with county costs accounting for the majority of the total. Once the votes are validated, we will have a clearer idea about the price.
“I don’t think you can put a price on democracy and accessibility,” Aguilar said, “and the opportunity for Nevada to set the national stage about what’s important to voters.” The Nevada Republican Party did not return the Review-Journal’s requests for information on the exact costs of holding its caucuses. The party, however, received $330,000 from presidential candidates who paid the $55,000 fee to sign up, according to its latest financial disclosure report.
The Nevada Republican Party reserved 42 Clark County School District facilities for the caucuses, which cost a total of $8,558. According to a school district official, the cost covers space leasing, police services, custodianship, and administrative expenses. On the Republican side, the primary results demonstrated what happens when a candidate decides to avoid the Silver State. While Haley was in Nevada in October for the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit, her campaign has decided to neglect Nevada, one of the Republican Party’s four early primary states. Haley had accused Trump of rigging the caucuses, so she registered for the primary but made no attempt to persuade Nevadans to vote for her in the symbolic contest.