More to Question 3 than just opening the primary election

You’ve heard and read the ads, the ones in favor of voting yes on Question 3 that it will open the primary election to all parties, so they may vote for any candidate they choose no matter what party affiliation; and the ones telling us to vote no on Question 3 to avoid confusion and costly “ranked-choice” voting that will discourage voters participation in elections.

The argument against passage is that it would completely overhaul elections in Nevada, making them more complicated and more time-consuming for voter participation. It could cost Nevadans millions of taxpayer dollars to implement.

“One person, one vote” is at the core of free and fair elections in America. Question 3 raises questions regarding whether it undermines that basic principle, and leaves some voters at risk of having votes ultimately not counted in the final tally. For example, if a voter chooses to rank only one candidate, their ballot might be excluded from the final count – as if they didn’t show up for an election at all. Meanwhile, voters who selected multiple candidates will have their votes counted multiple times.
Ranked-Choice voting is a complex process that results in up to five times as many ballots uncounted because of errors. Currently, Nevada’s voting process is straightforward: voters pick which candidate they support, and the candidate with the most votes wins. Ranked-Choice voting makes casting ballots more confusing and tedious, and decreases participation in our elections. In close races, it could take weeks to determine the winner, leading many voters to question the validity of the results.

The argument for passage is that despite being funded on the backs of all taxpayers, Nevada’s partisan primaries are only open to Nevadans who register as Republican or Democrat. Question 3 ensures that every Nevadan’s voice is heard and that every vote matters, regardless of party registration, and makes elected officials more accountable to all Nevadans.

Question 3 will give all Nevada voters the right to participate regardless of their party registration. In addition to giving Nevadans more voice, Question 3 will also give voters more choice by establishing a Ranked-Choice general election system.

If passed, will Question 3 have a financial impact? The answer is yes. In addition to an increased number of pages in the sample ballots that are sent out to each registered voter, in December 2021, the Secretary of State’s Office provided information to the Fiscal Analysis Division relating to potential costs related to the implementation of ranked-choice voting. This information, which was obtained with cooperation of local governments, estimated one-time expenditures by the state and local governments of approximates $3.2 million beginning in FY2025, prior to the November 2026 General Election, relating to voter outreach and education, increased ballot stock costs, personnel expenses, equipment, software and programming costs for voting machines, and updates to training materials.

The Secretary of State’s Office additionally estimated ongoing expenditures relating to the implementation of Ranked-Choice voting of approximately $57,000 per fiscal year, relating to the payment of license fees to the vendors supplying election software to each of Nevada’s seventeen counties.