Mail-in primary ballots must be postmarked by June 9

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The primary election June 9 will be by mail-in ballot in Nevada – a first in the state, according to reports.

The early voting period ends June 5. Voters can vote by mail, but must postmark their ballot by June 9 for their votes to be counted. Ballots may also be dropped off at the county courthouse on June 9. Regular polling places will not be available.

County Clerk Lisa Lloyd discussed voting at the June 1 commission meeting.

Commissioner Varlin Higbee asked about how the county will be able to fact- check the ballots since there has been quite a bit of concern nationally about the possibility of mail-in ballot voting fraud.

Lloyd responded by noting that for dropping off ballots, state rules for the procedure require that each person voting drop off his or her own ballot at the courthouse. “There is one exception. You are allowed to drop off the ballot of a family member at the courthouse, but when you come in you have to sign an affidavit certifying that you are a family member and have the authority to carry that ballot.”

County Treasurer Shawn Frehner said she had a person come to the door of the courthouse and ask that Frehner turn in the ballot for them. At the clerk’s office, though, Frehner was told she could not do that, and she had to run to catch the person before they left the premises because they had to turn in the ballot personally. “Even as an elected official, I cannot bring the ballot to the clerk’s office for someone who is not a family member. They are very much keeping everything in line for this election.”

Lloyd has stated in previous meetings that the normal polling places for voting in the past will not be open June 9. “Don’t even go there because there won’t be anyone there.”

As reported last week in the Las Vegas Review-Journal, there has been “intensified partisan debate about the security of all-mail voting, putting a sharp focus on how states are handling a process President Trump claims without evidence leads to widespread election fraud.” 

Reports have pointed out that four states, including California and Nevada, are sending ballots directly to voters for this year’s primaries because of the risks posed by the coronavirus, though so far only California has decided to do so for the general election joining five states that already send mail ballots to voters –  Oregon, Washington, Colorado, Utah and Hawaii.

The RJ report noted Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske said last week, “Nevada has many safeguards in place to ensure the integrity of an all-mail election.”

These safeguards include signature requirements and verification processes, preprinted ballot return envelopes, barcode tracking and laws against ballot harvesting.