Clerk-Recorder Scott Hoen to speak before the start of Monday's Democratic luncheon

Before the start of Monday's luncheon, which will feature judicial candidate Kristin Luis, Carson City Clerk-Recorder Scott Hoen has agreed to take the floor and go on Zoom to explain how the state's new voting system, called the Voter Registration and Election Management Solution - VREMS for short - will impact our elections here in Carson City.

This new system creates a centralized, statewide voter registration database and election management system which aims to modernize elections, increase transparency, and streamline the voting experience. His presentation will begin no later than half past noon. He has a lot to cover, so we'll get started as soon as we can.

Here are some additional talking points Scott will address:

Sample ballots to be mailed September 23

Mail ballots to be mailed September 30

Last day to register by paper for this election - October 8

Mail ballots will start to be counted on October 22

Information about who has voted in person and via mail will be posted on the Clerk-Recorder website nightly

Early Voting starts October 19

Three NEW drop box locations for mail ballots

One NEW polling location is being added

=================

On September 9, Yvette Fernandez of Nevada Public Radio published the following story about VREMS and Question 7 on the KNPR website. KNPR's studios are at the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas.

Nevada fully implements new voter system and has a Voter ID initiative on the ballot

Nevada has now fully implemented a new system called VREMS — Voter Registration and Election Management Solution. It integrates all the information from each county into a single place, making the state's system faster and more efficient. The legislature allocated funding in 2021 to update and implement VREMS. Voters will see it when they vote in person.

Clark County Registrar of Voters Lorena Portillo recently demonstrated the VREMS process, which starts on a tablet called a “poll pad.” Once a voter verifies their information, the device prints out a card that allows the voter to continue.

“This voting card has an arrow the voter will see and use to activate our voting machine,” explained Portillo.

The tablet-sized screen has an attachment on its right that takes a white plastic card. On the screen are several paragraphs of text with an "Accept" button. A large headline with a green background is at the very top that reads clearly "Warning: Voting Twice is a Crime."

Nevada's new election voter registration system is on display at Clark County's Election Center. Voters go through a verification process before being able to insert a card into the "Poll Pad" tablet, which is where they would cast their vote.
Clark County, Nevada's most populous county, has already used this system in two elections this year.

Ballots sent by mail will also go through the VREMS verification system remotely.

In many states, including Nevada, many continue to question the integrity of the voting process. At a recent panel discussion in Las Vegas with Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, some questioned how the system prevents ineligible people from casting their ballots.

Aguilar reiterated that the checks and balances that are already in place. However, a Voter ID initiative is set to appear on the ballot this November as Question 7. If a majority of voters support the question this year, it will be placed on the 2026 ballot, when another affirmative vote would amend Nevada’s Constitution.

Several groups oppose the voter ID initiative. The Nevada Voter Freedom Alliance PAC announced its intention to fight “the obstructive voter ID ballot initiative,” calling the effort “disruptive, costly and exclusionary.”

Others say the initiative will make voting more difficult for certain groups, such as minority communities.

“Access to the ballot for all eligible Nevada voters should be simple and free of obstacles, allowing Nevadans to exercise their right to vote,” said Manuel Santamaria, state director for Mi Familia Vota, a Latino political advocacy group. ”This ballot initiative continues a pattern of attacks on Latinos and other BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) communities by a governor who seeks to marginalize them further by limiting access to school lunches and promoting school choice voucher scams. This initiative aims to punish these communities further by restricting the most fundamental right they are guaranteed: the right to be heard at the ballot.“

Mathilda Guerrero Miller, Government Relations Director of Native Voters Alliance Nevada, echoed similar sentiments.

"Proponents of Question 7 love to claim that if you need an ID to fly, buy alcohol, or rent a car, you should need one to vote. But here’s the truth: those are privileges — voting is a fundamental right for all eligible voters,” Guerrero Miller said. ”Nevada is home to 28 federally recognized Tribes, each with its own sovereign government, and Tribal IDs vary across these Nations. For many Native voters, these IDs are critical, but laws and regulations like Question 7 put additional unnecessary barriers in their way. This isn’t about security — it's about MAGA Republicans’ ability to control and silence BIPOC voices. Nevada has a proud history of standing up against voter suppression, and we won’t let these dangerous tactics take hold here."

Portillo said many doubts are raised because people are not well informed about checks and balances in the system. She advises voters to educate themselves about voting procedures and requirements.

The VREMS system prevents people from voting twice. An attempt to do so is considered a crime.