How Nevada's mail and in-person voting works, from signature checks to the final ballot count

What happened

Tens of thousands of Nevadans have already cast ballots in this year's general election, and thousands more votes are expected before, on and after Election Day, The Nevada Independent reported. The outlet published a guide to how the state's mail and in-person voting systems work, from who gets a ballot in the mail to when results become final. Here are the key points from that reporting.

Who gets a mail ballot

Opting out and inactive voters

Nevada law lets voters opt out of getting a mail ballot, but the deadline to do so has passed, according to The Nevada Independent. Mail ballots are not sent to inactive voters, meaning people whose actions or inactions raise questions about their residency. Inactive voters remain eligible to vote even without a mailed ballot.

Inactive voters are supposed to be people who skipped the last election and did not return a residency confirmation postcard within 33 days, though lapses sometimes happen. With the state's new election management system, officials plan to send postcards to anyone with no election activity in the prior cycle, including registration updates or voting records. A voter can also be marked inactive if officials learn the person moved out of the county.

Ballots for former residents

A ballot can arrive for someone who no longer lives at an address when officials have no record of the move. Election officials say the current resident should return it with "Not at this address" written on the envelope. That starts the process that could remove the person from the voter rolls.

Signatures and postmarks

Signature checks

The signature on a mail ballot must match the one on the voter's file. Officials check electronically and, when needed, by hand, and if at least two election workers find "multiple, significant and obvious" differences, they contact the voter. In the 2024 election, about 9,000 ballots were not counted because voters did not fix their signatures, and about 2,300 ballots needed a signature cure through the first six days of early voting this year, The Nevada Independent reported.

Officials describe errors as exceptionally rare and urge anyone with questions to contact local or state election offices. In the June primary, more than 30 mail ballots in rural Lyon County were not counted because they were wrongly sent to the state election office instead of the local one, despite having the correct address. State election officials blamed the U.S. Postal Service.

Why mailing early matters

The Postal Service recently began postmarking mail when it reaches a processing facility rather than when it goes into a mailbox. A ballot mailed on Election Day may therefore not carry that day's postmark, which would invalidate the vote. Election officials recommend mailing ballots at least one week before Election Day.

Voting in person

At the polls

Early in-person voting is available until four days before Election Day, and voters can also vote in person on Election Day at any site in their county of residence. A worker is supposed to verify a registered voter's name, address and signature, then hand over a card for the voting machine. The machine prints a copy of the selections, and the vote does not count unless that printout is inserted into an on-site ballot scanner.

Voting machines used in Nevada must be tested to meet federal election security standards. The state also conducts logic and accuracy testing before elections and postelection audits, according to The Nevada Independent.

Same-day registration

People who register on the same day cast provisional ballots so officials have time to confirm eligibility and check that they have not already voted. Instead of scanning the printout, these voters seal it in a provisional ballot envelope and place it in a dedicated drop box, and the scanner is supposed to reject it if they try. Once eligibility is verified, the ballot is counted.

When results come in

Officials can start counting mail ballots 15 days before the election and continue for a week after it, but no results are released until the last person in line at an Election Day polling site has voted. Ballots postmarked by Election Day count if received by 5 p.m. the Saturday after, and those with unclear or missing postmarks count if received by 5 p.m. the Friday after. The Nevada Independent noted these ballots are a small share of votes but can still swing close races.

Media outlets can often project winners on election night or in the days that follow. Results are not final until local officials canvass them, which must happen within 10 days of Election Day. For more, see our broader election coverage.

What to watch next

• Release of provisional ballot results, which officials can begin the day after Election Day.
• Mail ballot counting, which can continue for a week after Election Day.
• The local canvass of results, required within 10 days of Election Day, when all provisional ballots must be counted or resolved.
• Postcards under the state's new election management system to voters with no election activity in the prior cycle.