Voting

Hours after President Donald Trump threatened litigation over it through a tweet, members of the Nevada Senate voted on party lines to approve a bill that expands mail-in voting during times of emergency.

Nevada lawmakers are convening for a special session to address a long list of policy topics ahead of their regularly scheduled session early next year.

To help readers understand where bills stand in the sometimes chaotic world of the Legislature, The Nevada Independent is maintaining this viewer’s guide with brief overviews and status updates on the measures.

A special session was meant to be held Thursday, July 30 which would discuss COVID-19 issues, problems with unemployment, voting reform, and possible police reform, among other issues.

Tonight beginning at 6 p.m., the Carson City School Board will be voting on the re-opening plans for all schools in the Carson City School District, which is slated to open on a proposed hybrid schedule. Families are also given the option of 100 percent distance learning, but there is no option at this time for 100 percent in school learning, except for certain special education students.

To watch the meeting live beginning at 6 p.m., you can tune in on Carson.org by following this link, which should be activated just before 6 p.m.: https://www.carson.org/transparency/meeting-agendas-minutes-and-recordings

CARSON CITY — Girl Scouts of the Sierra Nevada and Girl Scouts of the USA announced Monday there are 24 new badges designed to help girls practice ambitious leadership in the crucial areas of automotive engineering, STEM career exploration, entrepreneurship, and civics, many of which remain male-dominated.

The Carson City School Board will be voting on the final plan for the upcoming 2020-2021 school year and the effect COVID-19 has had on it at the board meeting this Tuesday, July 28, at 6 p.m.

The meeting, which will take place in the Sierra Room of the Community Center located at 851 E. William Street, will decide on how the reopening of the new school year will go in Carson City Schools.

The Assembly approved an omnibus budget bill a second time Sunday morning, this time with an amendment allocating tens of millions of dollars in federal coronavirus relief funding toward boosting alternative education strategies during the pandemic, winning over several Republican lawmakers who opposed the proposal 15 hours earlier.

Members of the Assembly took the first step to formally slash hundreds of millions of dollars from state budget accounts to close a $1.2 billion budget gap Saturday evening.

The Nevada Highway Patrol has entered into the American Association of State Troopers (AAST), Best Looking State Police Cruiser Contest. This is the 7th year AAST has held this event.

A number of Nevada’s rural county commissions have passed or are considering resolutions expressing their opposition to mail-in voting. Taking their cue from President Trump, they base their opposition on claims that mail-in voting is rife with fraud. It’s no coincidence that these exclusively Republican officials feel threatened by mail-in voting, and it has nothing to do with fraud, real or imagined.

An individual at the Legislature has tested positive for COVID-19, according to an email sent by Legislative Counsel Bureau Director Brenda Erdoes to lawmakers on Friday and obtained by The Nevada Independent.

Lawmakers began the task of filling the $1.2 billion hole in the state’s budget on Wednesday as they kicked off their special session with a litany of budget and agency briefings throughout the day.

Early next month, hundreds of elected officials, state workers, lobbyists and members of the public will congregate in Carson City for a special legislative session to patch massive holes in the state’s budget.

For over four decades I have formally observed hundreds of successful (and unsuccessful) candidacies expressing hopes, ideas, and plans for the voting-market to evaluate as possible policies and governance. All candidates —especially at this time and place — are to be complimented for having the chutzpah required for this endeavor. Running for office is too often an unpleasant challenge. Period.

Voter turnout for Carson City has remained virtually unchanged despite the mail-in voting for the June primary, according to initial results from the primary. For those residents concerned over voter fraud due to the new system, this should come as a relief.

While voters eagerly await the results from today's election, they may end up waiting a litter longer than usual thanks to the new election procedures caused by COVID-19.

Due to the nature of the 2020 Nevada voting procedure, which included a large number of mail-in ballots, these results are not final until June 16th. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by today, June 9, 2020, to be counted. The clerk's office must receive the postmarked ballots by June 16, 2020 when the results will be finalized.

UPDATE 11:40 p.m.: The Secretary of State's Office updated their election results, stating the first results should now be posted at midnight. The last update stated results were anticipated at 10 p.m.

At 7 p.m., the polls closed throughout Nevada, and as of 9 p.m. results have begun to be announced. This story will be updated as new results come in.

Today is election day in Carson City and throughout the state of Nevada, and due to COVID-19, things are happening a little differently this year.

For example, ballots were mailed in March to every registered voter throughout the Silver State to lessen the need for voters to turn up in person to cast their ballots.

The 2020 primary election in Nevada is today, Tuesday, June 9. The election is being conducted primarily by mail ballot. Limited in-person voting locations will be available on June 9.

In Carson City, the Primary Election will be held by mail, with limited polling locations at the Carson City Courthouse. Voters are encouraged to vote their mailed ballot and return the ballot to the Clerk's office in the postage paid envelope provided.

June 6 was supposed to be the day of the kick-off concert to the 2020 Levitt AMP Carson City Summer Concert Series. Unfortunately, we all know that large gatherings like the ones that take place at Levitt AMP Carson City are just not possible right now.

On Wednesday, Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske announced early turnout numbers for the June 9 primary election that is being conducted primarily by mail-in ballot. As of Tuesday, 276,456 of the 1,829,050 ballots mailed to Nevada voters have been cast. An additional 636 voters have cast a ballot in person during the early voting period.

The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 on Thursday to accept a new diesel tax in Carson City, with Supervisor Lori Bagwell voting against.

According to the agenda, Nevada Revised Statute (NRS) 373.062 to enact by ordinance a zero to five cent per gallon tax on the sale of diesel fuel within Carson City.

Carson City is currently experiencing its largest use to date of mail-in voting thanks to COVID-19, and some people are concerned over the potentiality for voter fraud.

However, according to Miguel Camacho, Chief Deputy Clerk of the Carson City Clerk’s Office, there have always been checks and balances in place to maintain a fair election for all Nevada residents.

President Donald Trump threatened in a tweet Wednesday morning to withhold federal funding from Nevada should it proceed with its mostly mail primary election, alleging that the state’s decision to do so is “illegal,” though he didn’t offer any specifics about why he believes that is the case.

CARSON CITY — Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske encourages eligible Nevadans who are not currently registered to vote or who need to update their existing voter registration information to do so before the Thursday, May 21 online deadline in order to receive a mail-in ballot for the June 9, 2020 primary election.

Nevada is trying to conduct its June 9 primary election almost entirely by mail as a way to prevent the spread of COVID-19, with limited options to vote in person. Wayne Thorley, deputy secretary of state for elections, took questions from the public in a Facebook Live town hall on May 11.

The Nevada Supreme Court is the highest court in the Nevada Judicial system, and represents the third branch of government. There are two seats up for election: Seat B and Seat D.

Your questions will be answered! Join us this Thursday, May 14 at 7 p.m. to listen and ask questions from the Nevada Deputy Secretary of State Wayne Thorley.

On Monday, May 11 at 3 p.m., Nevada voters will have the opportunity to have their questions about the mail-in ballot process for the primary election answered by the Nevada Secretary of State’s office during a Facebook Live Q&A event.

Ballots have been sent (or will be sent soon) to Carson City residents for the local upcoming elections. These are your candidates, who they are, and what they stand for.