An election worker holds an American flag at a polling station at Galleria At Sunset in Henderson, Nevada on November 8, 2022
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Mario Tama / Getty Images
An election worker holds an American flag at a polling station at Galleria At Sunset in Henderson, Nevada on November 8, 2022
Mario Tama / Getty Images
Nevada voters have approved a ballot measure that makes sweeping changes to their state’s voting system, according to a Associated Press race call.
The bill, which was passed by 52.8% on Sunday morning, establishes open primaries in which the top five candidates come forward and then a voting system with ratings. for general elections.
The system will work for state and federal elections, but will not include the race for the presidency of the United States.
Until now, Nevada has used closed primaries, which means people can only vote for candidates with the same political party as on their registration. Voters can also only vote for one candidate in each race.
The open primary system will allow voters to vote for candidates regardless of party preference. Then, according to the ranked selection system, they will rank their picks from 1-5. If a candidate gets more than 50% of the vote, they are declared the winner.
If no one wins a majority of votes, then the candidate with the fewest votes will be disqualified and that candidate’s second choice will be redistributed as votes to the other candidates. This reallocation process continues until someone reaches 50% plus one. (Read KUNR’s summary of the process.)
Nothing will change immediately. Follow Las Vegas Review Magazine.
Supporters of the measure say it will empower nonpartisan voters who cannot vote in closed primaries, according to KUNRwhile opponents call the measure confusing and say it could undermine democracy.
Two other states, Alaska and Maine, also use ranked voting.
