Nevada's new VIVID election dashboard shows 2,081,305 mail ballots sent and 176,253 returned so far

What happened

The Nevada secretary of state's office launched an online dashboard on Thursday that follows statewide turnout, mail ballots and in-person voting, the Las Vegas Sun reported. The tool is called VIVID and is available at VIVID.NV.gov. It arrives while early voting is already under way for the Nov. 3 general election.

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said in a statement that transparency builds confidence in the state's elections, according to the Sun. Readers who want a broader look at the process can see our guide to how Nevada mail and in-person voting works.

What the dashboard tracks

Mail ballots

The dashboard shows how many mail ballots have been sent out, returned, accepted and how many are still outstanding, the Sun reported. Those figures can be broken down by party and by county.

Signature cures

It also shows how many ballots county election officials need to verify because a signature is missing or does not match, and how many of those have already been verified. This verification step is known as curing a ballot.

Turnout by day, county and party

For in-person voting, the dashboard reports early voting turnout for each day. It also reports early voting and Election Day turnout by county and by party, according to the Sun.

The early numbers

A screenshot of the dashboard published by the Sun showed that as of 2 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, county election officials had mailed 2,081,305 ballots statewide for the general election. Officials had received 176,253 ballots back at that point.

Of the returned ballots, 173,068 had been accepted and 2,249 needed to be cured, the screenshot showed. These figures reflect the count as of that time on Thursday.

Key dates and deadlines

Early voting and Election Day

Early voting began Saturday and continues through Oct. 30, the Sun reported. On Election Day, Nov. 3, polling places will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Mail ballot rules

To be counted, a mail ballot must be postmarked by Election Day and received by county election officials no later than Nov. 7. The Sun noted that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on June 29 that federal law does not bar states from counting mail ballots cast before Election Day that arrive afterward.

Registration and ballot tracking

Voters can register or update their registration online at VOTE.NV.gov, or in person during early voting or on Election Day. People who vote by mail can follow the status of their ballot at MyBallot.NV.gov. More coverage is collected on our elections page.

Why it matters

The dashboard puts statewide and county-level ballot data in one public place during the election. It lets voters see how many mail ballots are still outstanding and how many need signature verification by county election officials.

What to watch next

• Early voting continues through Oct. 30, with daily turnout posted on VIVID.NV.gov.
• Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3.
• Mail ballots postmarked by Election Day must reach county officials by Nov. 7 to count.
• The 2,249 ballots flagged for curing as of Oct. 22 still needed verification by county officials.