Midterm elections—halfway through a president’s term—historically draw lower voter participation than presidential elections.

Only 62% of Nevada’s 1.5 million registered voters participated in the 2018 midterm general election, a significant drop from the 76% of voters who showed up for the 2016 presidential election, according to the Nevada Secretary of State. Turnout was even lower in the 2018 midterm primary, when only 22% of eligible Nevada voters cast a ballot.

Now, it’s again time for Southern Nevadans to take part in the democractic process, with this year’s midterm primary election set for June 14 at more than 120 local polling sites (see below for a listing). Early voting, which began May 28, closes on June 10.

This year, many voters won’t be heading to a polling site, however. A law passed last year by the Nevada Legislature calls for all registered voters to receive a mail-in ballot for all elections moving forward. Simply complete the ballot and drop it in the mail to complete your civic duty.

“The access is really great for all voters,” says Joe Gloria,Clark County’s registrar of voters Joe Gloria says. “We tried to make it as easy as possible.”

A lot’s at stake this year, as elected officials will determine legislation on gun control, women’s reproductive rights, voting access and more.

Gloria oversaw elections in 2020, which were marked by the pandemic and (disproved) concerns about election security and legitimacy. He says that since state law requires a universal mail ballot system, Clark County has strengthened its infrastructure to process them.

“The volume of mail that came in 2020 far surpassed anything that we’ve done in the past,” Gloria says. “We’ve been doing mail ballots for a long time, so we had to adapt our processes to handle the volume. We increased the number of staff. We lobbied heavily to receive money from the county commission and get equipment that gives us the ability to process more ballots.”

Who’s on the ballot? It depends on the party affiliation listed on your voter registration. Regardless of your affiliation, you can vote for nonpartisan offices including judges, school board trustees and city council.

For partisan offices like governor, registered Democrats’ ballots will show only candidates belonging to their party, and same for Republicans. Nonpartisan voters and voters registered to any other party vote exclusively for nonpartisan positions.

After all the votes are counted in this election, the winners of the partisan primaries will run against the opposing party’s winner in the general election in November.

How do I register to vote?

If you registered or updated registration online after May 31, the county will not send a corresponding mail ballot for the 2022 primary election, but you can still vote at a polling site. You can register or update your registration online or in person on the day you cast your ballot.

For same-day registration, you’ll need a Nevada DMV-issued driver’s license or ID. If the address on the ID doesn’t match your current residential address, you’ll need some other valid proof of residence (utility bill, bank statement, pay stub, etc.).

You can register or update registration online at registertovote.nv.gov. And there are options to register in person at the DMV or through organizations and social services that provide voter registration assistance.

How do I check my registration status?

If you have registered before and want to verify that your status is active (meaning the county clerk has a valid address on record) or update your mailing address, you can do so at nvsos.gov/votersearch.

The county did not mail ballots to voters whose registration was inactive as of May 25; however, they still are eligible to vote in the primary, so long as they reside in Clark County. Presentation of Nevada DMV-issued ID is required.

How can I be sure that my ballot was counted?

First off, all votes must be cast by June 14. For mail ballots, they must be postmarked on or before that date and must be received by the Clark County Election Department by June 18.

You can track your mail ballot at by logging in to "registered voter services" on Clark County's election website.

If you’re voting at a polling place, Clark County uses Dominion voting machines, which are certified at state and federal levels and provide a paper receipt of your selections.

“We use a touch-screen voting machine with a voter verified paper audit trail attached to the side. And we have high-speed mail ballot readers that we use to tabulate our mail ballots,” Gloria says. “It is a very secure system, certified at the federal level by the U.S. [Election Assistance Commission]. And then the Secretary of State also certifies them.”

What should I do if I received a mail ballot, but I prefer to vote in person at a polling site?

You’ll need to sign an affidavit, a document that clearly states that you do not plan to vote twice. You don’t have to bring the ballot with you; you can just destroy it.

If you choose to bring your mail ballot to a polling place, election workers will accept it and mark it as surrendered.

Who’s on the ballot?

Candidates for congressional delegation, governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, state controller, attorney general, state legislature, Nevada System of Higher Education regents, local government (county commissioner, city council, mayor, district attorney, sheriff, administrators, school board trustees) and court judges. A full list of candidates on the 2022 primary election ballot is available on the Secretary of State’s website.

I still have concerns about election security and the accuracy of ballot counting.

You can see for yourself! Per Nevada law, anyone may observe voting at a voting site—no credentials required. Anyone wishing to do so should ask for the voting site “Team Leader,” who will direct the observer to a designated location within the voting site. Observers will be required to sign a form confirming that they will not: speak to voters; use a phone or computer within the voting site; advocate for or oppose any candidate, party or ballot question; argue for or against the decisions of election personnel; or interfere with the conduct of voting.

The form states that observers can be removed from the site for violating any of those regulations. The number of observers might be limited for reasons of public safety, protection of voter privacy or maintenance of order.

How can they be sure no one votes twice?

“We have a system in place here where once we start processing the [mail ballots], we’re able to update our poll book—not quite in real time, but very soon after we scan those ballots in. So we’re doing everything we can to prevent somebody from actually voting twice—once through the mail, and once in person,” Gloria says. “The computer system guards against that. And we’re consistently updating the poll book information against the mail ballots that are received so that we can control that and not allow people to vote twice.”

Can I give my mail ballot to someone else to drop it off?

There are no restrictions for collecting ballots to be submitted to official drop-off locations, Gloria says.

“There was a change in law that allows voters to [do so],” he says. “Before, they were limited to only turning theirs in, or a member of their family’s. Now, there’s no restriction on that.”

If I don’t want to drop my mail ballot in my usual mailbox, are there official drop boxes available?

All Clark County polling places also serve as mail ballot drop-off locations. You can also drop your ballot off at Clark County Election Department and city halls. A list of locations and hours is available on the election department’s website.

It’s a felony for anyone other than Election Department Officials to provide ballot drop boxes.

“Folks shouldn’t be having their own private drop-off boxes. If they have a group of them, they need to turn them in at an official drop off site,” Gloria says.

Can my mail ballot be thrown out because of the signature?

This can and has happened, but it’s rare, Gloria says.

If a voter missed the instruction and did not sign their mail ballot or a question arises about the signature, the election department will contact the voter by phone, email and mail using the information from the voter’s registration. Those voters have until 5 p.m. on June 20 to provide a signature confirmation or actual signature, as applicable.

Voting Centers and Mail Ballot Drop-Off Sites

All locations open June 14, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Aliante Library, 2400 W. Deer Springs Way

Allen Elementary School, 8680 W. Hammer Lane

Arroyo Market Square, 6930 Arroyo Crossing Parkway

Bailey Elementary School, 4525 Jimmy Durante Blvd.

Bailey Middle School, 2500 N. Hollywood Blvd.

Bass Elementary School, 10377 Rancho Destino Road

Blue Diamond Crossing, 4100 Blue Diamond Road

Boulder City Recreation Center, 900 Arizona St.

Boulevard Mall, 3528 S. Maryland Parkway

Bozarth Elementary School, 7431 Egan Crest Drive

Bridger Middle School, 2505 N. Bruce St.

Brown Junior High School, 307 Cannes St.

Bunkerville Community Center, 150 W. Virgin St.

Burkholder Middle School, 355 W. Van Wagenen St.

Cadwallader Middle School, 7775 Elkhorn Road

Cambridge Recreation Center, 3930 Cambridge St.

Canarelli Middle School, 7808 S. Torrey Pines Drive

Cashman Middle School, 4622 W. Desert Inn Road

Centennial Center, 7881 W. Tropical Parkway

Clark County Building Department, 4701 W. Russell Road

Clark County Fairgrounds (Fine Arts Building), 1301 Whipple Ave., Logandale

Coleman Senior Center, 2100 Bonnie Lane

Conners Elementary School, 3810 Shadow Peak Drive

Coronado High School, 1001 Coronado Center Drive

Cortney Middle School, 5301 E. Hacienda Ave.

Cox Elementary School, 280 Clark Drive

Cram Middle School, 1900 W. Deer Springs Way

Dailey Elementary School, 2001 E. Reno Ave.

Deer Springs Town Center, 640 E. Deer Springs Way

Derfelt Elementary School, 1900 S. Lisa Lane

Desert Breeze Community Center, 8275 Spring Mountain Road

Desert Oasis High School, 6600 W. Erie Ave.

Desert Vista Community Center, 10360 Sun City Blvd.

Detwiler Elementary School, 1960 Ferrell St.

Dooley Elementary School, 1940 Chickasaw Drive

Doolittle Community Center, 1950 N. J St.

Elizondo Elementary School, 4865 Goldfield St.

Faiss Middle School, 9525 W. Maule Ave.

Fine Elementary School, 6635 Cougar Ave.

Forbuss Elementary School, 8601 S. Grand Canyon Drive

French Elementary School, 3235 E. Hacienda Ave.

Galleria at Sunset, 1300 W. Sunset Road

Galloway Elementary School, 701 Skyline Road

Goolsby Elementary School, 11175 W. Desert Inn Road

Gray Elementary School, 2825 S. Torrey Pines Drive

Guinn Middle School, 4150 S. Torrey Pines Drive

Hayes Elementary School, 9620 W. Twain Ave.

Heritage Park Senior Facility, 300 S. Racetrack Road

Historic Fifth Street School, 401 S. 4th St.

Hollywood Recreation Center, 1650 S. Hollywood Blvd.

Indian Springs Community Center, 715 W. Gretta Lane

Johnson Middle School, 7701 Ducharme Ave.

Keller Middle School, 301 N. Fogg St.

Kesterson Elementary School, 231 Bailey Island Drive

King Elementary School, 888 Adams Blvd., Boulder City

Knudson Middle School, 2400 Atlantic St.

Lake Elementary School, 2904 Meteoro St.

Las Vegas Athletic Club, 6050 N. Decatur Blvd.

Las Vegas Athletic Club, 1725 N. Rainbow Blvd.

Laughlin Library, 2840 S. Needles Highway

Lawrence Junior High School, 4410 S. Juliano Road

Leavitt Middle School, 4701 Quadrel St.

Long Elementary School, 2000 S. Walnut Road

Lowe’s, 2570 E. Craig Road

Mack Elementary School, 3170 Laurel Ave.

Manch Elementary School, 4351 N. Lamont St.

Mannion Middle School, 155 E. Paradise Hills Drive

Martin Middle School, 200 N. 28th St.

McDoniel Elementary School, 1831 Fox Ridge Drive

Meadows Mall, 4300 Meadows Lane

Mendoza Elementary School, 2000 S. Sloan Lane

Mesquite Jimmy Hughes Campus #1, 150 N. Yucca St.

Miller Middle School, 2400 Cozy Hill Circle

Moapa Community Center, 1340 E. State Highway 168

Moapa Tribal Admin. Building, 1 Lincoln St., Moapa

Moapa Valley Community Center, 320 N. Moapa Valley Blvd., Overton

Molasky Middle School, 7801 W. Gilmore Ave.

Monaco Middle School, 1870 N. Lamont St.

Moore Elementary School, 491 N. Lamb Blvd.

Mountain Shadows Community Center, 9107 Del Webb Blvd.

Mountain’s Edge Regional Park, 8101 W. Mountains Edge Parkway

Nellis Crossing Shopping Center, 1250 S. Nellis Blvd.

Ober Elementary School, 3035 Desert Marigold Lane

O’Callaghan Middle School, 1450 Radwick Drive

O’Roarke Elementary School, 8455 O’Hare Road

Paradise Community Center, 4775 Mcleod Drive

Parkdale Recreation & Senior Center, 3200 Ferndale St.

Pearson Community Center, 1625 W. Carey Ave.

Rainbow Library, 3150 N. Buffalo Drive

Rancho High School, 1900 Searles Ave.

Reed Elementary School, 2501 Winwood St.

Regional Transportation Commission, 600 S. Grand Central Parkway

Sahara West Library, 9600 W. Sahara Ave.

Sandy Valley School, 1420 E. Pearl Ave.

Saville Middle School, 8101 N. Torrey Pines Drive

Sawyer Middle School, 5450 Redwood St.

Schofield High School, 8625 Spencer St.

Schorr Elementary School, 11420 Placid St.

Searchlight Community Center, 200 Michael Wendell Way

Sedway Middle School, 3465 Englestad St.

Shadow Ridge High School, 5050 Brent Lane

Silverado Ranch Plaza, 9869 S. Eastern Ave.

Solera at Anthem Community Center, 2401 Somersworth Drive

Stevens Elementary School, 550 Dave Wood Circle

Stupak Community Center, 251 W. Boston Ave.

Sun City Anthem Community Center, 2450 Hampton Road

Sun City MacDonald Ranch Community Center, 2020 W. Horizon Ridge Parkway

Sun City Mesquite, 1350 Flat Top Mesa Drive

Swainston Middle School, 3500 W. Gilmore Ave.

Tarkanian Middle School, 5800 W. Pyle Ave.

Tarr Elementary School, 9400 W. Gilmore Ave.

Tobler Elementary School, 6510 Buckskin Ave.

Town Square (near AMC Theaters), 6605 Las Vegas Blvd. S.

Tropicana Beltway Center (near Lowe’s), 5120 S. Fort Apache Road

Vassiliadis Elementary School, 215 Antelope Ridge Drive

Vegas Verdes Elementary School, 4000 El Parque Ave.

Veterans Memorial Leisure Center, 101 N. Pavilion Center Drive

Walnut Community Center, 3075 N. Walnut Road

Whitney Community Center, 5712 Missouri Ave.

Wiener Elementary School, 450 E. Eldorado Lane

Williams Elementary School, 1030 J St.

Winchester Dondero Cultural Center, 3130 McLeod Drive

Wolfe Elementary School, 4027 W. Washburn Road

Woodbury Middle School, 3875 E. Harmon Ave.