First primary election results to be released Tuesday evening

Robert Perea, The Fernley Reporter

The first batch of results for the 2020 primary election will be posted at approximately 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske said.

Because of recent changes to state law, as well as the fact the 2020 primary election is being conducted primarily by mail ballot, Cegavske said primary election results will not be finalized until June 19. By law, county election officials have seven calendar days to receive and count mail ballots that are postmarked on or before June 9. Counties also have 10 calendar days after an election to certify election results.

Cegavske said results for the 2020 primary election will be released on the following schedule. All results are unofficial until certified by the county. Election results will be posted at https://silverstateelection.nv.gov.

• Tuesday, June 9 – After the polls close at 7:00 p.m. and the last voter in line has cast a ballot, the counties will begin reporting election results to the Secretary of State. The first results will be posted online at approximately 8:30 p.m. These results will consist of all the ballots the counties have counted to date. At midnight, updates to the results will stop being posted.

• Wednesday, June 10 – No additional results will be posted.

• Thursday, June 11 to Wednesday, June 17 – At approximately 9 a.m. each day, updated election results will be posted online. These results will include the ballots the counties counted the previous day.

• June 19 – Official results for the 2020 primary election results will be posted. At this point all ballots will have been counted and the results will have been certified.

The 2020 primary election will be held on Tuesday, June 9. The election is being conducted primarily by mail ballot. Limited in-person voting locations will be available on June 9. In-person ballot drop off locations will also be available on June 9. Voters appearing in person to cast their ballot will be given a paper ballot, except in Washoe County where voting machines will be used. For more information on the 2020 Nevada primary election, visit www.mailitinnevada.com or follow the Nevada Secretary of State on Facebook or Twitter.

“I would like to thank all 17 county election officials and their staff for the tremendous work they put into preparing for the state’s first ever vote-by-mail election,” Cegavske said. “Since the vote-by-mail primary election was announced on March 27, countless hours have been spent in order to ensure the primary election could be conducted on June 9, as required by state law. I would also like to thank the voters of Nevada who have overwhelmingly responded positively to the temporary change to a vote-by-mail election."

Cegavske said the decision to automatically mail every registered voter a ballot applies only to the 2020 primary election. The general election, which will be held on November 3, will be conducted under normal circumstances.

“As a reminder, any registered voter in Nevada can request to vote by absentee ballot for any election,” Cegavske said. “The voter does not have to reside out of the state or have a qualifying reason to vote by absentee ballot. In order to request an absentee ballot for the 2020 general election, fill out an Absentee Ballot Request Application and submit it to your county election official.”