Early voting is underway in Nevada, and tens of thousands of ballots have already been cast both by mail and in-person.
If you plan to vote in person, there is one important change to know about before you go: casting your ballot will look a little different this election.
A new three-step process is now in place for in-person voting at polling locations in all 17 counties across Nevada. Voters will use what are called "ballot marking devices." Here's what the process will look like when you get to the polls:
1. Check in with poll workers as usual and receive your vote card
2. Make your selections at the ballot marking device, then print your ballot to review your choices
3. Insert your printed ballot into the tabulator to cast your vote
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar says the new process will not change how votes are tabulated. He says it is designed to increase voter engagement and improve the overall safety of elections.
WATCH | What's new at the polls before you cast your ballot Early voting is underway in Nevada here's what's new at the polls before you cast your ballot"Before, every one of those machines had a flash drive in them. So if you had 40 machines at one polling location, there were 40 flash drives for the polling location manager to manage and maintain chain of custody, to maintain security," said Aguilar. "Now, those machines no longer have those flash drives. No information is stored on the machine. It is in that paper ballot. And the polling location only has to manage two or three flash drives now, and the flash drives are in the tabulators. That is critical to maintaining security, but also increases the efficiency of the county to be able to tabulate all the votes."
As Early Voting continues, he also says he expects to see more people at the polls for the midterm elections than there were for the primary election held earlier this year.
"I think there's a lot of conversation around elections this cycle, which is hopefully motivating people to get out," said Aguilar. "It doesn't matter how much money we have in our bank account. It doesn't matter how much education we have, it doesn't matter where we live. Our right to vote is the one time every American is equal and has an equal say in the future of our country and the future of our state."
As of Wednesday, Clark County has recorded more than 50,000 votes cast since early voting began last Saturday. Early in-person voting runs through October 30th. If you are mailing your ballot, it must be postmarked on or before Election Day. You can track your mail ballot online here.
Election Day is November 3rd.
