Facebook
Fark
Digg
Reddit
StumbleElections:
Turnout light as early voting begins
Saturday, May 22, 2010 | 5:20 p.m.
Sun Coverage
CARSON CITY – When early voting opened Saturday morning for next month's primary election, there were lines in many of Nevada's counties of voters waiting to cast their ballots.
But the surge slackened off.
In Clark County, where there are 1,060,522 registered to vote, only 4,133 had cast ballots by 2 p.m. , which was four hours after early voting polls opened.
Matt Griffin, deputy secretary of state in charge of elections said after the 10 a.m. opening that it’s “been pretty quiet. . . . There has been no indication of problems.”
Early voting usually draws 20-25 percent of those registered to vote. Griffin predicts a close to 30 percent turnout in the Republican primary election.
The race for the GOP nomination for the U.S. Senate and for governor has drawn the most interest.
Gov. Jim Gibbons, who has been a controversial figure, is, according to polls, trailing former U.S. District Judge Brian Sandoval of Reno. If the polls hold true, Gibbons would be the first sitting governor to be defeated in a primary election.
Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid has only token opposition in the Democratic primary for governor.
Republicans have conducted a spirited campaign for the nomination to challenge Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat.
Former state Senator and Las Vegas businesswoman Sue Lowden is fighting it out with former state Assemblywoman Sharron Angle of Reno and Danny Tarkanian of Las Vegas to win the primary to go up against Reid in November.
Candidates are still making the rounds trying to pile up votes. Early voting continues until June 4 and primary election day is June 8.
Discussion: comments so far…
Comments are moderated by Las Vegas Sun editors. Our goal is not to limit the discussion, but rather to elevate it. Comments should be relevant and contain no abusive language. Comments that are off-topic, vulgar, profane or include personal attacks will be removed. Full comments policy. Additionally, we now display comments from trusted commenters by default. Those wishing to become a trusted commenter need to verify their identity or sign in with Facebook Connect to tie their Facebook account to their Las Vegas Sun account. For more on this change, read our story about how it works and why we did it.
Only trusted comments are displayed on this page. Untrusted comments have expired from this story.
No trusted comments have been posted.
Post a comment
Most Popular
- Viewed
- Discussed
- E-mailed
- Photos: Olivia Culpo, 20, of Rhode Island is crowned 2012 Miss USA at Planet Hollywood
- US Navy hopes stealth ship answers a rising China
- Learning about Electric Daisy Carnival fans will help Las Vegas court them
- On the horizon: A quick look at projects poised to shape downtown
- Clark PG Kentrell Washington heading to Hofstra basketball
Everything Under the Sun
Blogs
The Kats Report
Joe Pesci remembers his own honeymoon in Vegas -- meeting the Rat Pack
Las Vegas Philharmonic says search for new music director to begin 'immediately' (1 Comment)
With Shenandoah project stalled, Wayne Newton hits back legally (7 Comments)
Where does a Playmate play when she turns 21? Vegas! (3 Comments)
Ice Ice Billy
The road to six-toed cats and Mayor Bubba
The Kats Report
David Itkin tells L.V. Philharmonic officials he's on his way out (14 Comments)
Diamond Dave sells it well as Van Halen pours out the power at MGM Grand (2 Comments)
- Locally owned and independent since 1950; Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, best news website in the nation & DuPont Award for broadcast journalism
There weren't too many people when I voted this morning in Reno, but the sheer number of Sue Lowden yard signs on the street in front of the polls were quite impressive.
Get out and vote people. We have this chance to save our country and our constitution. You are not alone. We are here fighting for our country...My wife and kids convinced me to stop hollering at the TV and to run for office.
So many of us who are tired, filed for candidacy...so please go vote and give us a mandate to save this state and country.
My name is Billy Soloe, candidate for Nevada State Senate, District 10 Las Vegas.
Please visit my website www.soloeforsenate.com
Come on. Of course voting is likely to be light on the very 1st day of early voting. But as angry as WE THE PEOPLE are I expect that each and every person who is registered to vote will get off their DUFFS this time around and VOTE. Don't prove me wrong VOTERS. VOTE as it is your ONLY chance to get rid of the current Tax Cheats, X-Felons,and Crooks who have little or NO regard for what the Anerican people and the people of NEVADA want.. !!Good Bye Harry!!
Only 3 blogs about voting in nearly 4 1/2 hours since the story posted? Doesn't sound promising.
My first response after I listen to grievousness is, "Did you vote?"
You only throw your vote away when you don't vote with your conscience.
Vote! Vote! Vote!
Both Brian Greenspun's Sunday column and Jon Ralston's Sunday column are doing the best they can to encourage people to NOT vote early and to NOT be angry when you cast your vote.
Why? Because they know early voters are angry and they're going to vote against the Sun's boy -- Harry Reid.
They want you to sit tight and give Harry Reid six more months to smear his opponents with $25 million war chest built up from Wall Street lobbyists and Californians.
Neutralize the war chest. Take your anger to the polls NOW and tell Reid to take a hike. Sorry, Greenspun and Ralston, your strategy won't work.
Incumbents are getting pounded across the country and it's not going to be any different for Reid. Just wait -- maybe Obama will come to town to campaign for him.
That's been the kiss of death for every other candidate so far, and it will be again.
Some of us don't think that early voting should be legal.
Subsequent events between early voting and election day could could change the outcome if everyone had voted on election day.
Early voting is just a self-serving convenience for government, and we are willingly scammed.
what in the world..this guy posted only in Nevada do they early vote...lol..31 states have early voting..some people just want to complain no matter what you do...the fact is..early voting gets more people involved in the process to exercise their rights to vote..now who would want to suppress peoples right to vote, and why the grudge against early voting? We make progress for a reason..unless you want to go back to the days when A white male, owning 50 acres of unimproved land, or 25 acres of improved land, belonging to the established church, could vote. That was it. No minorities, Catholics, Baptists, Quakers or women.
I bet that would suit you just fine!
Early voting is the result also of our population...so you want people standing in yet another line for hours and hours...well we could..but why should we when we can be smart and cast our vote early. But I have an open ear if you have a constitutional argument that you would like to make, but I will tell you that each state is Sovereign and has a right to set their own laws.
Billy Soloe
Republican Candidate Nevada State Senate
District 10 Las Vegas
www.soloeforsenate.com