Ballots are in the mail

Ballots for the Douglas County 2024 Primary Election should be in the mail and arriving in mailboxes this week.

On Wednesday, Clerk-Treasurer Amy Burgans talked about the upcoming elections at the Sierra Nevada Republican Women’s monthly meeting at the COD Casino.

“We have 41,292 mail ballots being sent out (Friday),” she said on Thursday.

That doesn’t count the roughly 400 ballots to military and overseas voters and those who are temporarily out of state that have already been mailed out. She said that around 600 voters have opted out from receiving a mailed ballot.

Burgans stressed that if someone hasn’t received a sample ballot, they should reach out to her office.

“Typically, it’s a post office issue, however we always want to double check to ensure we have an address correctly,” she said.

She said she expected the mailed ballots to arrive within 2-3 days, so if people don’t see those by May 17, they should reach the clerk’s office at elections@douglasnv.us or 775-783-6095.

She said some of the more common questions she’s received about the ballots regard who’s not on them.

There are only three local races on the Republican primary ballot for Douglas County commissioner. There are federal races on both sides of the aisle for U.S. Senate. Republicans will get to chose between Rep. Mark Amodei and Foothill resident Fred J. Simon in U.S. Congress.

“The primary election was created for the purpose of a runoff for the major parties,” Burgans said. “That’s for us as a party to pick who we want to represent us in the general election. In Nevada we still have closed elections. Most people don’t have their head wrapped around closed primaries, at all.”

There are two school board offices on the nonpartisan primary where Yvonne Wagstaff and Markus Zinke are running unopposed.

Under Nevada law, Burgans said they have to receive one vote to be elected.

“If they don’t get one vote then they will go on to the general, but I have a feeling they will vote for themselves,” she said.

Minor party and nonpartisan candidates in contested races will go onto the general election ballot, including two of the school board races.

Burgans issued a plea to voters to be kind to the folks running the elections.

“I have been in office for 3 and a half years, and I’m one of the most senior clerks in the state of Nevada,” she said. “The clerks in Nevada are amazing. We are working our tails off. We have conversations every day, and we’ve got each other’s backs. So, if you trust me, trust them, because I’m watching them, like they are watching me, and we are a team. We cannot have a repeat of what happened in 2020, as far as all of us universally thrown under the bus. Please have my back.”

She asked anyone who has heard something about the elections or has a question to reach out to her.

“Every time we lose a clerk, we lose knowledge,” she said. “If someone talks about something with the elections, say ‘you know who you need to talk to? Call Amy.’ I always have time. We’re doing this for each and every one of you. It’s not for the Republicans, not for the Democrats and not for the nonpartisans, but for all of Douglas County’s citizens.”

Early voting opens May 25 at the Douglas County Community & Senior Center. Mailed ballot drop-off and polling locations will rotate around the county over the following two weeks before the June 11 Election Day. Schedules and locations are printed on the sample ballot.