Letters to the editor for Thursday, March 10, 2016

Nevada GOP caucuses: Was your voice heard?

Did you want to have a say in the 2016 GOP Primary Election?

If so, did you happen to be in town between 5 and 9 p.m. on the evening of Tuesday, Feb. 23? (Because if not, you couldn’t vote).

Were you confused about where you would vote and how long you needed to stay at the caucus site? Did you stand in a line for up to 1 1/2 hours to sign in at your caucus site in order to vote? Were you surprised when you learned you could simply vote your ballot when you signed in at your caucus site and leave?

Absentee ballots and early voting were not permitted (except for members of the military). Caucuses were inconveniently scheduled for a four-hour period on a Tuesday evening in late February. Caucus sites were not necessarily located at your usual polling place.

Voter turnout for the 2016 Nevada GOP caucuses was 17 percent. Less than one in five Republican voters had his/her voice heard. Were you among the 83 percent of disenfranchised Republicans?

The Nevada Legislature needs to stop voter disenfranchisement. Eliminate the Nevada GOP caucus system and establish a Republican primary.

Mary Henderson

Genoa