EARLY VOTING
Joe Gloria said the hard cutoff is midnight because Nevada law states there may be no more than 14 days of early voting. However, the law doesn’t limit how many hours polls can be open each day of early voting.
“Them showing up to vote early on the last day tells us more than likely they can’t make it on Election Day,” Gloria said. “There would be no reason for us to deny a voter from casting a ballot.”
The county’s practice drew the ire of Republicans during early voting in 2016.
Nevada Republican Party chairman Michael Mcdonald said polling sites were kept open “so a certain group could vote.” Donald Trump’s presidential campaign sued Gloria in 2016, claiming four polling locations improperly stayed open late. Clark County District Judge Gloria Sturman struck down the lawsuit days after it was filed.
The county’s policy to keep early voting locations open late is not outlined in election materials given to voters.
“It would not be appropriate to encourage voters to go to a polling place at a time when we expect it will be closed,” Gloria said.
State law is much more explicit, however, on when votes can be cast on Election Day. Polls open at 7 a.m., and no one can get in line to vote after 7 p.m.
Watching the polls
More than 320,000 ballots had been cast in Clark County as of 3 p.m. Thursday, Kulin said.
Local branches of civic engagement organizations are working to elevate those numbers Friday.
Mi Familia Vota is knocking on doors to drum up the Latino and immigrant vote and offering free rides to the polls.
Cecia Alvarado, the group’s Nevada director, said ride-hailing company Uber has received more than 200 ride requests from voters using a code distributed by Mi Familia Vota. An unknown number of other voters had been driven to voting locations by volunteers with Souls to the Polls, a faith-based group.
“We’re dealing with a community that at times lacks resources, so offering transportation to the polls, Early-voting turnout in Nevada has Been outpacing the 2014 midterm election But falling short of the 2016 presidential election. for a lot of people this is the obstacle between them and voting,” Alvarado said.
Other groups are working to prevent voter suppression.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada on Friday will dispatch attorneys and other volunteers to monitor voting locations.
Legal Director Amy Rose said about 100 volunteers wearing black shirts will keep an eye out for long lines, malfunctioning voting machines and anyone trying to intimidate voters. Anyone who has a problem is encouraged to report it to