LIVE BLOG: Polls are closed in Clark County as primary voting wraps up

Tuesday marked voters’ last chance to cast their ballot in Nevada’s primary election.

The election will determine which candidates for federal, state and local races will advance to November’s general election. In some races, Tuesday’s results may determine the winner outright.

More than 208,000 Nevadans cast their vote during early voting or by mail ballot as of Friday.

Check back here for developments throughout the night and visit lvrj.com/results for the latest primary election results as they become available.

Polls are closed in Clark County

“All voters in line by 7 p.m. have voted,” said an email from Clark County spokesperson Stephanie Wheatley. “All polls are closed.”

— Review-Journal staff, 7:50 p.m.

Mesquite crash doesn’t stop voting

A power outage caused by a car crash in Mesquite lasted about two hours Tuesday, but did not slow voting.

Overton Power District #5 is a nonprofit special improvement district that provides power to the Mesquite area. It posted several times Tuesday afternoon on X that a car crash caused the outage and crews were restoring power as quickly as possible.

Power was restored shortly after 7 p.m.

Clark County confirmed that polling places were not affected.

— Marvin Clemons, 7:15 p.m.

Climate change, healthcare, women’s rights are voter’s priorities

The political issues Nancy Rashbrook said she cares about include climate change, immigration, women’s rights and healthcare.

Rashbrook, 42, voted around 6 p.m. at the Historic Fifth Street School in downtown Las Vegas.

“I think voting is very important. It’s part of our system — our society,” said Rashbrook, who has been a valley resident for 19 years.

— Peter Breen, 6:15 p.m.

Keep Trump out of office, voter says

Connie Hawkins, 64, came out to vote at Doolittle Community Center Tuesday evening.

“You can’t get what you want if you don’t go out,” she said.

Right now, Hawkins said she doesn’t think either major political party can straighten out the American government, adding that “you got to take the lesser of the evils.”

Typically nonpartisan, Hawkins is going with the Democrats this election cycle, she said. Hawkins explained that her ultimate goal is keeping Donald Trump out of office.

— Peter Breen, 5:55 p.m.

New and long-time voters

Lance Perez, a Las Vegas resident, voted for the first time Tuesday evening. The 18-year-old said voting was straight forward, and said he fulfilled his right to vote.

While a new voter cast his vote for the first time, 97-year-old Nina Ageef also cast her ballot Tuesday at Galleria. She and her daughter Radha Ageef voted Republican and cast their ballots for Dr. Jeff Gunter in the Senate race. They were choosing between Sam Brown and Gunter, but decided they liked Gunter more.

— Jessica Hill, 5:45 p.m.

Sam Brown got Henderson man’s vote

Melvin Owens, a 60-year-old Henderson resident, said voting was easy at the Galleria on Sunset mall.

Owens, a Republican, voted for Sam Brown in the Senate race.

“I don’t agree with everything, but I think there’s some changes that need to be made,” Owens said. “And I think he’s probably got the best outlook. Whether he does it or not, it’s all, you know, relative. I think overall, I think he’s probably got the best agenda.”

Owens said he thinks there should be more accountability, and he’d like to see more changes to immigration.

— Jessica Hill, 5:10 p.m.

’Should be more emphasis on informed voting’

Jon Kamerath, 58, said he always votes on Election Day.

“I only believe in Election Day voting because sometimes we learn new information up to Election Day,” Kamerath said.

Kamerath, who voted at the Sahara West Library in Summerlin, said that he belongs to party but is registered nonpartisan. He said he and his wife review and research every candidate in every race before casting their ballot.

“There’s a lot of emphasis on voting, but I think there should be more emphasis on informed voting,” he said.

— Taylor Avery, 5:41 p.m.

Voter tired of all the whining from non-voters

At the Sahara West Library in Summerlin, Kat Angeli, 67, said voting in the primaries is important because “just a few votes make a big difference.”

Angeli said she was voting in person because she has been in the process of moving and felt voting in person was easier.

“I don’t trust the mail,” she said.

She also said it was hard to research who is running.

Just outside the polling station’s 100-foot electioneering barrier, tables of people were set up with volunteers and staff wearing shirts and holding signs for Drew Johnson, Shelley Berkley, Jeff Gunter, Victoria Seaman and others as they tried to chat with voters heading into the library and out of the 103 degree heat.

Dominick Miner, 25, said she was voting on the last day because she had been busy with work.

“It makes a difference,” said Miner, who said she’s lived in Las Vegas her whole life.

“I’m Catholic, so I’m voting Republican,” Miner said.

Carmine Difulvio, 52, said he votes in every election because he wants to have a say.

Difulvio, who said he’s lived in Las Vegas his entire life, said he usually votes during early voting but was too busy to do so this year.

He said the mayoral race was the contest he’s most interested in, but declined to say who he voted for.

Difulvio said he’s tired of people who don’t vote “whining and moaning” about what’s happening in politics.

“I’m not going to be the one to whine,” he said.

— Taylor Avery, 5:30 p.m.

Deal with homelessness, Vegas voter says

Lajuana Clark, 49, said she voted Tuesday evening because state officials have the power to change the “conditions” of Las Vegas.

Above all else, Clark said she would like the city to deal with homelessness better. Next, Las Vegas should focus on strengthening its economy, she added from the parking lot of the vote center at Ollie Detwiler Elementary School.

Before the pandemic, Clark ran a small business in the city, she said.

“I was one of the small businesses that literally got shut down,” Clark said. “And unfortunately I had to walk through the whole being homeless (thing).”

— Peter Breen, 5:23 p.m.

Dissatisfied with politics

John Novak, 61, of Henderson, voted because he’s dissatisfied with the general state of politics, he said. He’s not concerned with federal politics.

“I think what happens right here in Henderson is much, much more important than than what goes on in Washington D.C.,” Novak said, at the Galleria at Sunset polls.

His major concerns for this election are border security, lower taxes and open-business markets.

— Ella Thompson, 4:50 p.m.

‘Why am I going to vote? Because I can’

Janet Raimond, 57, voted to fulfill her civic duty. Typically, she opts for early voting, but forget to do it for this election, she said.

Her votes leaned towards the conservative side, she said.

“I’ll be honest to say that I would want to cast my vote to support anyone who supports the ideals of Trump, which are basically to have a secure border, to keep out criminals and terrorists, and not to have big government like the Democrats want with the high taxes that they want to shove down our throats,” Raimond said.

She said it’s important to exercise her right to vote, especially as a woman.

“Why am I going to vote? Because I can,” she said, leaving the Galleria at Sunset polls.

— Ella Thompson, 4:40 p.m.

This election more consequential than November’s, voter says

On the northwest side of the Las Vegas Valley, Scottish Steewart said he thought voting was his duty as an American citizen.

Steewart, 59, said at the Rainbow Library vote center that he has lived in the valley for six years and is concerned about the cost of housing in the area.

The outcomes of the local elections now and in November are more consequential than the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, Steewart said. He added that he thought more people would vote in the Nov. 5 election than the primary.

“That’s very bad,” he said.

— Peter Breen, 4:33 p.m.

Voter confusion at Galleria

Henderson resident Mandi Hansen, 60, complained about the lack of directions at the Galleria at Sunset polling location, which caused her to walk all over the mall before finding the polls.

Hansen said she was voting with someone who uses a walker and another who uses a wheelchair.

“They need to put signs outside the mall saying, ‘voting here’ or ‘voting next to polls,’” she said. “They need better signs and directions as to where we go to vote.”

— Ella Thompson, 4 p.m.

Veteran hopes to shape city policy

Gary Chaney said he didn’t regularly pay attention to politics and government during the 21 years he spent in the military.

“You sort of go to your duty station; you do what you’re told,” the 57-year-old said at the Thunderbird Family Sports Complex vote center in Centennial Hills on Tuesday afternoon.

When he became more ingrained in civilian life, Chaney realized how much local elections matter, he explained.

Chaney said he voted Tuesday to help influence policies affecting Las Vegas.

Over the past two decades as Las Vegas has grown dramatically, the city has been shaped by both good and bad policies in Chaney’s opinion, he added.

— Peter Breen, 2:43 p.m.

U.S. Attorney’s Office inspecting ADA compliance at polls

Justice Department officials were inspecting polling places in Nevada’s two most populous counties to make sure the polls were compliant with federal law that prohibits discrimination against those with disabilities.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada announced in press release Tuesday that it would be inspecting several polling locations in Clark County as well as Washoe County, home to Reno, to ensure compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Written surveys were also sent to all Nevada county election officials to determine if those counties were compliant as well.

“The purpose of this initiative is to protect the rights of voters with disabilities by ensuring that counties select and provide accessible polling places that voters with disabilities can access independently,” the press release stated.

— Review-Journal staff, 1:17 p.m.

First-time voter fears for future

“Democracy is on the line this year,” said Las Vegas resident Benjamin Vinocur, 18, who voted for his first time Tuesday.

Vinocur said it’s important for young people to vote because youth are underrepresented in politics. He said he voted because former President Donald Trump is on the ballot again and Project 2025 concerns him.

Project 2025, also known as the Presidential Transition Project, would aim to reshape the federal government if a Republican wins the 2024 presidential race.

“This Project 25 stuff scares the hell out of me,” he said.

Vinocur listed democracy and reproductive rights as top concerns, and “if I had to say a third one, just because I don’t like Trump,” he said at the Cambridge Recreation Center, 3930 Cambridge St.

— Ella Thompson, 1:03 p.m.

‘America is supposed to be free’

Manuel Manzano, 81, of Las Vegas, has been voting since he was 18. He said he voted Republican at Cambridge Recreation Center, noting he was on the conservative side.

“I’m concerned about the sovereignty of this country. It’s going down the tubes. It’s getting worse and worse,” Manzano said. “America is supposed to be free. We’re getting less and less free.”

— Ella Thompson, 12:36 p.m.

A wish that ‘people on both sides could come together and talk about issues’

“I’m a teacher so at the local level, I think the school board is very important. I want to have school board members who advocate for children’s learning and don’t play politics,” said Aly Henderson, 51, a born-and-raised Las Vegas local who voted at Sahara West Library.

For the general election, Henderson said, “What I wish we could look forward to is that people on both sides could come together and talk about issues rather than point fingers and use vitriolic language. … I feel as though a lot of hateful things have been taking place on both sides, so I’m looking forward to hopefully moving forward in November.

— Annie Vong, 12:15 p.m.

‘Democracy is the most important issue’

Although Donald Trump is not on the primary election ballot, the presidential candidate motivated former Nevada Gov. Richard Bryan to vote in the primaries.

Bryan, 86, who voted at Sahara West Library plans on voting for Sen. Jacky Rosen and U.S. Rep. Susie Lee to get a Democratic majority in Congress to counteract Trump’s influence if he is elected.

“I think that a threat to our democracy is the overriding, the most important issue to me,” said Bryan, who also served as a U.S. senator from 1989 to 2001.

Bryan, who has been living in Las Vegas since 1942 and has been voting since 1958, noted how well-organized the site was and how helpful election workers were to him.

— Annie Vong, 11:17 a.m.

Voting before breakfast

“There’s elections that I haven’t been concerned about, but I can’t believe Trump got elected the first time. I can’t believe people still like him… I haven’t felt like that for any other Republican president,” said Shelli O’Steen, 58, who stopped by to vote at Desert Breeze Community Center on the way to breakfast.

O’Steen’s top issues are affordable housing, healthcare, abortion access, and the environment.

— Annie Vong, 9:33 a.m.

The importance of local elections

“I think that’s very important for the direction of the city, the state. Sometimes, you think that presidential or national elections are important but really, what’s more important is the local elections for the city and the state,” said Scott Fuller, who voted at the West Tech polling location.

Fuller has been voting for 40 years and moved to Summerlin six months ago. It is Fuller’s first time voting in Las Vegas, and he plans to vote again in the general election.

— Annie Vong, 8:24 a.m.

An icy election in the heat of primary

Children at Henderson City Hall needed not to worry about the human candidates as the election for best ice cream flavor was ongoing Tuesday.

Next to the voting machines sat a smaller booth equipped with a tablet with four choices: chocolate, bubblegum, cookies and cream and vanilla.

The icy election began during the presidential primary elections in February in which children had eight choices, said Julie Chapman with the city’s election and clerk services administrator.

“This is our effort to teach children about elections and get them engaged in a fun and exciting way,” Chapman said.

Young participants received a voting sticker, a small gift and a coupon for a free scoop at Purple Penguin Snowcone Shack, a city partner.

The top two flavors will move into the final showcase in November.

“They’re trying to get their top flavor onto the general election,” said Chapman who reported seeing repeat voters from February’s primary.

The program is only available at City Hall, Chapman noted.

— Ricardo Torres-Cortez, 9:30 a.m.

‘Be kind’ and ‘stay cool’

There were a “few issues from the early vote period that will lead to post-Primary litigation,” said Athar Haseebullah, the ACLU of Nevada’s executive director, in a post on X.

It's Primary Election Day in NV. We have volunteers doing election observation statewide and are aware of a few issues from the early vote period that will lead to post-Primary litigation.

That said, please be kind to our election workers and volunteers today. Stay cool!

— Athar Haseebullah, Esq. (@atharesq) June 11, 2024

Haseebullah didn’t elaborate in the post about what those issues were. He also wrote that the ACLU had volunteers statewide who were observing the polls.

— Review-Journal staff, 8:13 a.m.

‘Efficient, very efficient’

Henderson City Council Ward 2 candidate Monica Larson filmed a video on her cellphone for her supporters after voting at Sun City Anthem’s community center.

Her brief voting experience, she said, was “efficient, very efficient, surprisingly efficient so I really enjoyed it.”

“Painless,” the candidate added.

Larson said that people feel powerless when it comes to elected officials’ decisions.

“The only way to create change is to exercise your vote,” she said. “That’s your weapon. Vote.”

— Ricardo Torres-Cortez, 8:00 a.m.

‘Why not do it?’

Jenna Perry, 21, was voting in her second election, and she was doing so before work.

“It’s just very simple and easy to do, so why not do it?” Perry said.

She noted that employers are mandated to give time off to employees time to cast a ballot in some instances.

“It’s your civic duty,” she said about people considering skipping the primary.

— Ricardo Torres-Cortez, 7:50 a.m.

Early vote in Henderson

Aubrey Marunde showed up early Tuesday to Sun City Anthem’s community center to cast her ballot, which included a vote for her husband, Henderson City Council candidate Bristol Marunde.

“It’s so easy, everybody is super friendly,” she said about the process.

The election was the family’s first.

“We want to make a difference in Henderson,” Aubrey Marunde said.

— Ricardo Torres-Cortez, 7:30 a.m.

Here’s what you need to know about voting on primary Election Day:

Polls open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Polling places open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Individuals in line before 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.

Southern Nevadans can find a voting location and wait times for polling places at https://elections.clarkcountynv.gov/VoteCentersVoter/index.html.

What about mail ballots?

Voters who wish to vote by mail ballot can drop off their ballots at any of the voting centers or in a mailbox. They may also be dropped in a mail ballot box, the locations of which can be found at www.ClarkCountyNV.gov/vote.

Mail ballots sent through the post office must be postmarked by Election Day to be counted, and must be received by the election department before 5 p.m. on the fourth day after Election Day.

Southern Nevadans can check the status of their mail ballot at https://www.clarkcountynv.gov/government/departments/elections/voter_services.php.

When will results be released?

The first set of election results — which will include results from mail ballots received before Election Day and early voting — will be released after polls have closed and the last voter has cast their ballot. Updated results will be posted as ballots are tabulated by elections staff.

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on X.