Early voting in Carson City Week 1: Mail-in, in-person totals and the process at Community Center explained
Submitted by Kelsey Penrose on Wed, 10/21/2020 - 3:24pm
The nation is on track for a record-breaking voter turnout, and Nevada is following suit. During the 2016 election, Week 1 of Early Voting returned 8,527 ballots in Carson City, 6,972 in Lyon County, and 7,320 in Douglas County.
As of Wednesday, Oct. 21, 14,059 mail-in and in-person ballots have been cast in Carson City, 8,394 mail-in and in-person ballots have been cast in Lyon County, and 11,260 mail-in and in-person ballots have been cast in Douglas County.
Overall, there was a 65 percent increase in Week 1 voters in Carson City, a 20 percent increase in Lyon County, and a 54 percent increase in Douglas County, as compared with 2016 figures.
Statewide, a total of 359,428 votes have been cast as of Wednesday morning.
Voters who arrived at the Carson City Community Center, the only polling location currently available in Carson City, to a line that was significantly shorter than on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday, during which nearly 2,500 Carson City residents turned out to cast their ballots at the voting machines instead of the mail boxes.
As always, there is no politic attire, signage, or memorabilia allowed within 1,000 feet of the polling location by law.
“People have been very respectful in line,” said Carson City Clerk Aubrey Rowlatt. “We’ve had no issues with campaign clothing, and social distancing is in place.”
All voters are required to wear a mask by statewide mandate.
On Wednesday, voters who arrived at midday only took roughly 20 minutes from start to finish to cast their ballots in-person.
Voters are directed to get into line at the south end of the Community Center, at the entrance facing the Carson City Aquatic Center.
The line snakes through the gymnasium to keep voters out of the sun, before being ushered into an adjacent room. In this anteroom voters must sign an affidavit stating they will not cast their mail-in ballot. Those who brought their ballots to surrender will have them taken by poll workers at that time.
Voters then take their affidavit to the gymnasium, where they are directed to one of four poll workers who take the affidavit and have voters sign a tablet, after which they receive their blank ballot.
Voters then take their blank ballot to the voting machines, where they insert their blank ballot into a slot. From there, they make their selections on the screen.
At the end, voters can review their ballot selections before selecting “Print” on the screen. The machine then prints their ballot with their selections.
Voters will then take their now-filled-out ballot toward the exit, where they will place them into the final ballot collecting machine, which is manned by a poll worker. Once their ballot is submitted, the poll worker will then give voters a very cool Carson City specific “I Voted!” sticker and they can leave the building knowing they have done their civic duty.
While poll workers were very vigilant about cleaning each voting machine after it was used by voters, there did not appear to be any hand sanitizer in sight. If you are concerned, it may be best to bring your own small bottle to use once you are finished with your voting, or to use throughout the process.
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