Could nonpartisans soon vote in Nevada primaries?

CARSON CITY — Nonpartisan voters could soon participate in Nevada primaries — if a bill in the Legislature is successful.

Nevada Speaker Steve Yeager, D-Las Vegas, proposed Assembly Bill 597 on Monday, which will allow a registered nonpartisan voter to vote in a primary election or presidential preference primary by requesting a partisan ballot when voting.

Nonpartisans make up the largest voting bloc in Nevada following the state’s implementation of the automatic voter registration system in 2020. The system allowed those who qualify to vote to automatically be registered at the Department of Motor Vehicles.

As of May , nonpartisans make up nearly 35 percent of registered voters, with Republicans at 29.02 percent and Democrats at 29.01 percent.

“As the number of unaffiliated registered voters grows through automatic voter registration or otherwise, we’d like to give them the opportunity to vote in the partisan primary election that may align with their ideology without having to re-register,” Yeager said in a statement.

Nevada is one of 10 states with a closed primary system, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Many nonpartisans in Nevada have expressed frustration about not being able to participate in key elections and supported efforts to open the primaries.

A 2024 ballot question would have allowed nonpartisans to participate in primaries, but it failed in large part due to heavy criticism about the component that called to create a ranked-choice voting system, which opponents said would be too confusing for voters.

Senate Minority Leader Robin Titus, R-Wellington, said in a statement to the Las Vegas Review-Journal that she strongly opposes open primaries, which she said Nevada voters already rejected.

“It would complicate voting, increase provisional ballots, and delay results,” she said in the statement. “We must respect the people’s decision and maintain our efficient closed primary system. With over one-third of Nevadans registered as nonpartisan and able to switch party affiliation to vote in primaries, no one is disenfranchised.”

Assembly Minority Leader Gregory Hafen, R-Pahrump, echoed those concerns, saying that voters rejected open primaries in November, and he supports them.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.