Nevada counts mail ballots that arrive after Election Day, and the rules help explain why full results take longer

What happened

The Nevada Independent published a guide to how the state counts mail ballots that arrive after Election Day. The outlet noted that the practice is a large part of why voters are likely to hear false claims during election season that Nevada's elections are "rigged."

According to The Indy, Donald Trump claimed two days after Election Day in 2022 that final results were unknown because the state wanted "more time to cheat." Jim Marchant was the Republican nominee for secretary of state in 2022 and is the nominee again this year. He said he lost that race because of "cheating" and pointed to a moment during counting when he was ahead.

The deadlines in Nevada law

Postmarked and unclear ballots

Under state law, a mail ballot postmarked by Election Day counts if election officials receive it by 5 p.m. on the Saturday after Election Day. A ballot with an unclear or missing postmark counts if it arrives before 5 p.m. on the Friday after Election Day. For a broader overview, see our guide on how Nevada mail and in-person voting works.

Where the rules came from

The deadlines followed a wide-ranging 2021 law, strongly opposed by Republicans, that made the pandemic-era expansion of mail voting permanent. In the 2020 election, ballots postmarked by Election Day could count if received within a week. The 2021 bill shortened that window to four days.

How many ballots arrive late

The Indy reported that ballots arriving after Election Day make up a small percentage of overall votes, though they can still swing close races.

The last two general elections

In the 2024 general election, about 9,500 Clark County ballots and 2,400 Washoe County ballots were received after Election Day. That was less than 1 percent of all ballots cast in the two counties. In 2022, about 40,000 Clark County ballots and 5,700 Washoe County ballots arrived after Election Day, or 5.8 percent of ballots received in Clark County and 2.9 percent in Washoe County.

Why results take longer

Election Day drop-offs

Results reported after Election Day do not mean those ballots were returned late. In 2024, results for 54,000 Clark County ballots dropped off on Election Day were not released until the next day, which frustrated Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, The Indy reported. That was more than five times the number of ballots actually received after Election Day.

In the 2025 legislative session, Aguilar proposed a bill to give local election offices more resources and backed a proposal to expand ballot drop box capacity before Election Day. Gov. Joe Lombardo vetoed both. He said the first bill "centralizes too much authority" in the secretary of state's office and that the second lacked sufficient security measures for drop boxes.

The last voter in line

Nevada law also bars officials from releasing any results until the final person in line at an Election Day polling site has voted. In the 2024 general election, the first results were posted at around 10 p.m. Our explainer on the state's VIVID dashboard and early mail ballot counts covers other data available before results come in.

Court rulings and proposed changes

During the 2024 election cycle, Republicans lost state and federal lawsuits that sought to end post-Election Day ballot counting. The Indy also reported that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year, in a case over a similar Mississippi law, that counting ballots after Election Day was legal.

In 2023, Lombardo proposed a bill requiring all mail ballots to be received by the close of polls on Election Day. It never received a hearing. In 2025, Sen. Lisa Krasner, a Reno Republican, sponsored a bill requiring ballots mailed to an election clerk to be postmarked by the end of early voting and received before polls close on Election Day. It also never got a hearing.

Ahead of the 2025 session, Lombardo said he would consider a ballot initiative on the issue if lawmakers did not change the rules, but that never materialized. According to The Indy, there are no indications that Democrats, who control the Legislature, want to change these laws.

What to watch next

• Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day can still count if received by 5 p.m. on the following Saturday, so a full picture of Nevada's results will take longer to emerge.
• Ballots with an unclear or missing postmark must arrive before 5 p.m. on the Friday after Election Day to be counted.
• First results cannot be released until the last person in line at an Election Day polling site has voted.
• Jim Marchant is again the Republican nominee for secretary of state this year.