It was a modest Election Day in Las Vegas — unless you get fired up about ice cream and standing in line.
The lines were long, but, thankfully, most of the circus skipped Nevada this year. The state has no Senate race in the Big Fight, and three of its four Congressional races were all but decided with Democrat incumbents expected to win again. The question mark among them, an open seat from the retirement of Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), is way up north. The closest race was for Governor, and the razor-thin margin might push the results to later in the week.
Ice cream and a long line
More than 750,000 ballots were already in before this year’s Election Day, which sits at around 75% of 2022 when the previous Governor cycle drew just over 1,000,000 voters. Early votes and mail-in ballots now account for a large majority of the pool, leaving just the traditionalists, lazy people, and those with the opportunity to leave work to show up on the actual Election Day.
Food trucks and free ice cream lured a few voters to City Hall in the early afternoon.
The demographics would explain the muted scene at Las Vegas City Hall on Tuesday morning, where the food trucks, music, and free ice cream weren’t enough to make a festive voting atmosphere, or any atmosphere at all.
Only four voting machines were operational and voters formed an improvised queue around the Paiute artifacts in the lobby. The shaky line caused a nervous energy for several regular employees who took up chaperone duty, but the lobby remained complaint-free. These were the traditionalists, the procrastinators, and the people who leave work with a built-in excuse for a late return, so there was no reason to be stressed out.
The City Hall line formed with only four voting terminals open.
The wait at City Hall was about an hour during what would normally be a slower part of the morning. Some left, most waited. Anyone could have checked a map to find another Voting Center with no wait, and they were everywhere. Voters in Nevada can stop at any location.
“Just vote, baby” - Al Davis
An express bus and a 20 minute walk could get you to Allegiant Stadium, the largest of the valley’s voting centers. There was no wait for the dozens of voting terminals that were spread throughout one end of the concourse, and the NFL stadium was more than equipped to handle over 4,200 voters in its election debut in 2024.
A football concourse makes for the perfect polling place.
Meanwhile, about six miles west of the Strip, the line at the Desert Breeze Community Center crept longer as night fell.
Desert Breeze was a crowded but restrained scene, especially after the property was the subject of a restraining order when voter harassment allegations forced Clark County judge to designate a new entrance to the facility. Prior to this week’s change, electioneers had camped out during early voting to bother people along the narrow pathway that led to the door of the center, which was previously considered its entrance.
The lines at Desert Breeze were still growing in the final hour of voting.
The decision shifted that entrance to the beginning of the pathway and the electioneering line of demarcation moved 100 feet into the parking lot. Campaign workers can’t bother you after that point, but the First Amendment gives them a lot of free reign to hassle you before you get there.
Lines stretched far beyond the electioneering line and into the parking lot, even as polls were set to close, so it’s likely to be a delayed night of counting votes in Nevada.
It probably doesn’t matter because Nevada isn’t getting any TV time during what could be a historic midterm. But the relative quiet is something to enjoy, as Nevada will be in second position on the 2028 Presidential Primary schedule — a spot that will bring a semi-permanent circus to town very soon.