Nevada 2020 Democratic caucus includes early voting option
The Nevada 2020 Democratic Caucus, the “First in the West” as it is proudly being hailed, is just over a month away, and the Nevada Democratic Party is preparing for the major undertaking that will help decide the Democratic presidential nomination.
In addition to the traditional caucus process, this year, the Nevada Democratic Party has a new task to tackle, that of early voting. The party made the decision to add an early voting period in an effort to increase participation by those who may be unable to make it on formal caucus day, which is set for Saturday, Feb. 22.
According to information obtained from the Nevada Democratic Party website, early voting participants should arrive at any early voting site within their county of residence and record their presidential preferences.
Because the caucus process relies on establishing “viability” for each presidential candidate, early voters will be required to make at least three selections in order of preference and will be allowed to mark up to five candidates.
“The Nevada State Democratic Party will respect the first choice of early vote participants and only realign an early vote participant if their first choice is not viable,” the information details.
Those early voters will be counted as eligible caucus-goers on caucus day, and their votes will be used in determining both viability and the number of delegates awarded to candidates. Early voters do not need to be present on caucus day and are not eligible to participate in their precinct caucus.
Early voting sites
In Nye County, Democrats can head out to several locations in order to take part in early voting. Those who are not currently registered to vote as Democrats will be able to register or update their registration on the same day at an early voting site.
In the Pahrump area, the Bob Ruud Community Center, 150 N. Highway 160, will serve as the early voting site. Voters can cast their ballots on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Tuesday, Feb. 18 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Amargosa residents who wish to vote early can go to the Amargosa Community Center, 821 E. Amargosa Farm Road, on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
For Beatty, the Beatty Community Center, 100 A Avenue S., is the early voting site. Ballots can be cast in Beatty on Saturday, Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Tonopah Convention Center, 301 Brougher Avenue, will be open for voting on Saturday, Feb. 15 and Tuesday, Feb. 18 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Early voting for Esmeralda County residents will take place Saturday, Feb. 15 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Esmeralda Community Center, on Crook Avenue in Goldfield.
Caucus day locations
On Wednesday, Jan. 15 the Nevada Democratic Party announced the locations for caucus day 2020. Nye County locations are broken down by precinct, with 11 well-known venues throughout the county set to serve as the caucus sites. As with early voting, same day voter registration will be available.
In Amargosa, precincts 6 and 18 will head to the Amargosa Community Center.
Beatty precincts 1 and 8 will caucus at the Beatty Community Center.
Precincts 2, 3 and 13 are directed to Duckwater Elementary, 2 Duckwater Road.
Gabbs area precincts 4 and 5 will caucus at Gabbs Elementary, 511 E Avenue.
For those in precincts 7, 12 and 35, the Round Mountain Public Library, 73 Hadley Circle, will serve as the caucus location.
Tonopah High School, 1 Tennant Drive, is the caucus site for precincts 14 and 15.
Pahrump consists of the largest portion of the local voter population and has five separate caucus locations.
Precincts 19, 28, 29 and 30 will meet for the caucus at Floyd Elementary, 6181 Jane Avenue.
Hafen Elementary, 7120 S. Hafen Ranch Road, is the site for precincts 17, 20, 22 and 24.
Precincts 11, 25 and 31 are directed to J.G. Johnson Elementary, 900 Jack Rabbit Street.
Those in precincts 9, 23, 26 and 32 will caucus at Manse Elementary, 4881 N. Lola Lane.
The Pahrump Senior Center, 1370 W. Basin Avenue, is the site for precincts 10, 16, 21 and 27.
In Esmeralda, precincts 1, 2 and 4 will caucus at Goldfield Elementary, 233 Ramsey Street in Goldfield while precincts 3 and 5 will caucus at Dyer Elementary, MM 11 Nevada Highway 264 in Dyer.
Registration for the 2020 Nevada caucus will open at 10 a.m. with the caucus to be called to order at 12 p.m.
Following the 2020 caucus, Nevada Democratic county conventions will take place on April 18. The Nevada State Convention is set for May 30.
For more information on the 2020 Nevada Democratic caucus, visit nvdems.com
Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com
Nevada GOP foregoing caucus, will hold vote in Pahrump to endorse Trump
The Nevada Republican Party has formally voted to opt out of the 2020 presidential caucus, making that decision at a party meeting in September, 2019.
Instead, the Nevada GOP will be holding a meeting in the Pahrump Valley in February to endorse and bind its delegates to President Donald Trump.
Nye County Republican Central Committee Chairman Joe Burdzinski said the weekend of that vote to endorse will be quite a busy one, with three days of activities planned. The Nevada Republican Party will be in Pahrump on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 21, 22 and 23, Burdzinski informed, with all activities to take place at the Pahrump Nugget Hotel and Casino.
Additional details on the events will be included in a future edition of the Pahrump Valley Times.
