Election begins as ballots arrive in the mail

Ballots went out to all 41,611 active voters in Douglas County on Thursday, signaling the start of the 2024 General Election.

School board candidates for Districts 3 and 5 are scheduled to speak at the Good Governance Group meeting starting noon Tuesday at the COD Casino.

Antoinette Casselberry and Doug Englekirk are first up at noon with Melinda Gneiting and Erinn Miller going second at 12:50 p.m., according to the group’s spokeswoman. Cost is $5 for the room and beverages.

All four participated in Wednesday’s Town Hall Debate at the Douglas County Community and Senior Center in Gardnerville.

The debate was livestreamed, but due to a glitch, about half of the school board candidates presentation didn’t appear online.

The livestream stopped at 8:05 p.m. but the event continued for another 40 minutes. Click here to watch the entire school board debate.

The Record-Courier, the Business Council of Douglas County, the Carson Valley and Lake Tahoe chambers of commerce sponsored the event.

The Town Hall featured a report from former Sen. James Settelmeyer on the ballot questions and a discussion among three of the four candidates for justice of the peace in the county.

In a rare instance where Republicans and Democrats agree, Question 3, which would establish ranked-choice voting and open primaries, is being opposed by both parties.

On Thursday, Douglas County Democratic Chairwoman Lori McKimmey argued against approving the constitutional amendment that would become law if approved in November.

“Question 3, an effort bankrolled by out-of-state billionaires, would lock a complicated and unfair new system into Nevada’s Constitution,” McKimmey said. “In the states that have tried it, this resulted in up to 10 times as many ballots being thrown out because of errors – leaving thousands of eligible voters without their voices being heard. Democrats and Republicans don’t agree on much these days, but Nevada leaders from both parties oppose ranked-choice voting.”

The Douglas County Republican Central Committee is also opposing Question 3.

Casselberry and Gneiting are seeking the seat being vacated by Linda Gilkerson. Englekirk is seeking a second term while challenger Miller is seeking to unseat him.

At stake is a majority of the school board that has seen a contentious two years after trustees David Burns, Susan Jansen and Katherine Dickerson won in November 2022.

School board trustee-elect Marcus Zinke and Trustee Yvonne Wagstaff were elected in the primary after no one filed against them.

School board is a nonpartisan race, though the Republican Central Committee has endorsed Englekirk and Casselberry. Both Gneiting and Miller are Republicans.