Early voting gains popularity

Stephen Curran

Friday, Aug. 16, 2002 | 9:44 a.m.

Each election year, there are a certain number of "traditionalists" who arrive at their designated polling place on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

But that number is steadily decreasing, thanks to the Early Voting program, which allows voters throughout Nevada to vote early, Clark County Registrar of Voters Larry Lomax said.

Early voting for the primary election begins Saturday and lasts through Aug. 30. Residents can cast their votes for the general election from Oct. 9 through Nov. 1.

The program, established in 1994, helps eliminate long lines at polling places by allowing voters to cast their ballots in locations at times convenient to their schedules, Lomax said.

Since its inception, the percentage of voters participating in the program has steadily increased, Lomax said. In 1994, only 5 percent of Clark County's 517,000 registered voters took part. Six years later, 44 percent voted this way in the general election.

"I think it will continue to go up and then peak out," Lomax said. "It's catching on."

The program's popularity is due in part to word of mouth, he said. As more voters become aware of the program, more will take part. However, because Clark County is growing so rapidly, it makes it difficult to tell new residents about their options.

"There's such an influx of people that a lot of people still have to be educated," he said.

Many other states have similar programs, although they differ greatly, said Susan Bilyeu, deputy secretary for elections for Nevada. California has a similar program in place, but only at the county level, she said.

Nevada's program most closely mirrors that of Texas, Bilyeu said.

While she said some states will "hold out" because of the possibility of voter fraud, similar programs will eventually catch on in most states.

"More and more states are going to do this," Bilyeu said. "Because of the more hectic schedules of society today, this is going to become more convenient."

It is difficult to tell whether the program has had an impact on Nevada's notoriously low voter turnout, she said, because the state only recently began grouping voters into "active" and "inactive" categories.

An inactive voter is defined as one the county has no way of contacting because they have left and not left a forwarding address, Lomax said.

While there are no statistics to back the claim, Bilyeu said she believes the program has increased voter turnout.

"It's hard to gauge from 1994 to now if early voting has had an impact," she said. "I would argue it has."

For more information on the Early Voting program, call the Clark County Election Department at 455-VOTE (8683) or visit www.co.clark.nv.us/election.