Clark County voters waited up to three hours Tuesday as turnout, a two-page ballot and a new voting process slowed lines

What happened

Some voters in Clark County waited two to three hours to cast ballots on Tuesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. Polls closed at 7 p.m., but anyone already in line at that time was still allowed to vote. Lines continued well into the night.

Clark County spokesperson Stephanie Wheatley said that just before 9:50 p.m., 23 polling locations still had people waiting to vote. By 10:10 p.m., that number had dropped to 11, according to the county.

Why the lines were long

The county's explanation

County spokesperson Jennifer Cooper said officials attributed the long lines to three things. These were higher voter turnout, a two-page ballot with many races, and a new process for in-person voting. During the day, officials warned that lines could grow longer that night, according to the Review-Journal.

A new way to vote in person

This year, voters made their picks on an electronic voting machine, which then printed a paper ballot showing their selections. Voters then fed that paper ballot through a tabulation machine to record the vote. Katherine Teran, 26, told the Review-Journal she waited about two hours at the IKEA store in the southwest valley and that this year was "a little bit slower." You can read more about how the new ballot process works.

One voter pointed to the number of machines

At Silverado Ranch Community Center, the line wound around the park's courtyard and was hundreds of people deep on Tuesday night. Jaydenn Kotch, 20, said she waited an hour and a half, even though the county's online database estimated one hour. She said she saw 30 machines, with two set aside for provisional voters, and four tabulation machines. "There simply are not enough machines to serve so many people efficiently," she told the Review-Journal.

Where the waits were longest

On Tuesday afternoon, a Clark County live polling website showed wait times of 40 to 60 minutes at more than 50 voting centers. Review-Journal reporters, however, saw several locations where waits ran past an hour.

Some of the longest reported waits were at UNLV, where voter Alicia Harris said lines reached up to 3½ hours. She left after waiting up to 90 minutes without moving and voted at Allegiant Stadium instead, which took about 40 minutes. Her partner, Shaun Harris, said the UNLV line looked to be mostly college students. He suggested the many first-time voters needing provisional ballots may have slowed it. Nevada allows same-day, in-person registration, which requires first-time registrants to show a state ID card or proof of residence.

In Henderson, Debbie Jordan, 64, said she waited nearly three hours at Ellis Elementary School and did not leave until around 8:30 p.m. Waits reached up to two hours at Coronado High School, Green Valley High School and Las Vegas City Hall. A long but shrinking line also wrapped around the Desert Breeze Community Center after polls closed. At the IKEA parking lot site, the last voter was seen entering at 9:20 p.m.

How the lines delayed results

Nevada does not allow preliminary election results to be released until every voter who was in line by the poll closing deadline has voted. The Review-Journal reported that results had not been posted anywhere in Nevada when it reached its print deadline. People were still in line at that point.

The first precinct delivered ballots to Clark County Election Department headquarters just before 8:15 p.m. Those ballots came from the Clark County Detention Center, which collects ballots from people who can vote while in custody. Ballot boxes from other locations did not start arriving at the election department warehouse until at least 90 minutes after polls closed. The Associated Press had not called any Nevada races as of the Review-Journal's print deadline.

What to watch next

• Release of preliminary Nevada results, which state rules hold until every voter in line at 7 p.m. has cast a ballot.
• Associated Press calls in Nevada races, none of which had been made as of the Review-Journal's print deadline.
• Arrival of remaining ballot boxes at the Clark County Election Department warehouse from polling sites across the county.