Voting and Democratic Engagement
UNLV Votes
Get Educated
Democracy is not a spectator sport-- getting educated before an election takes some work but is crucial. Elected officials represent everyone in their district, and make decisions that impact daily life on big and small scales. For nonpartisan information on where the candidates stand, see guides.vote.
Voting and democratic engagement is a core part of being an engaged community member. This page is designed to simplify the voting process by serving as a simple and comprehensive resource for registering to vote, learning about upcoming elections, accessing non-partisan voting resources, and getting involved with local nonpartisan engagement efforts.
Register to Vote Through TurboVote
UNLV has partnered with TurboVote to provide all UNLV community members a platform to:
- Register to vote
- Update your voter registration
- Request an absentee ballot
- Receive election reminders via text or email
- Learn about what is on the ballot
Any paperwork that is mailed via our TurboVote site will come with a pre-addressed and postmarked envelope so you can easily drop it into a mailbox for return.
Make a Plan to Vote
- You are more likely to vote if you make a plan to do it.
- Think through how you are going to vote. Options available in Nevada include:
- Look through each of our sections below to understand your options for voting in Nevada and to find resources for voting in other states.
- Check your voter registration status in the state of Nevada.
Voting by Mail
As a student, you are entitled to vote in your home state or the state where you attend school. If you plan to vote in your home state, you’ll need to request an absentee ballot. Absentee ballots are used when the address where someone lives is different from the one where they are registered. Each state builds their own guidelines for voting by mail or voting absentee. In Nevada, you do not need a reason to vote by mail, and you are entitled to a mail ballot free of charge. If you live on campus and are updating your student registration to (or within) Nevada, your mailing address to use for residence halls is: 1130 University Road, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89119.
Looking to vote by mail or absentee ballot in the next election?
Check the Status of Your Mail Ballot
The state of Nevada has partnered with BallotTrax to allow all voters to track the status of their mail ballot. You can sign up anytime – before or after receiving your ballot, before or after mailing it back or dropping it off, etc. – and receive updates via text or email about the status of your mail ballot.
Guidelines for Casting a Mail Ballot
During the 2020 Presidential Primaries, over half a million mail ballots were rejected nationwide due to validity issues such as not arriving on time or not being signed correctly. The following guidelines will help ensure your vote counts.
Nevada Mail Ballot Guidelines
- Return your ballot on time. Ballots can be voted and returned immediately once they are received. You do not have to wait until a certain date closer to Election Day to vote your mail ballot. Voters have two options to return a mail ballot:
- Ballots can be returned by mail using the provided postage prepaid ballot return envelope. In order to be counted, ballots returned by mail must be postmarked no later than Election Day. Mail ballots that are given to a mail carrier or deposited in a Post Office receptacle prior to the last posted pickup time will have their ballot postmarked that same day.
- Ballots can be returned in person at a ballot drop-off location. Ballots returned at a drop-off location must be dropped off prior to the polls closing on Election Day. All counties will have at least one ballot drop-off location. A list of all ballot drop-off locations by county can be found on the Nevada Secretary of State website.
- Use your ballot return envelope. Regardless of how a mail ballot is returned, it must be returned in the provided ballot return envelope. Ballots returned in any other envelope will not be counted. If needed, a replacement ballot return envelope can be obtained from your county election office. Only one ballot should be returned per ballot return envelope. If a ballot return envelope contains more than one ballot, none of the ballots will be counted.
- Sign your ballot return envelope. All ballot return envelopes must be signed by the voter. This signature is used to confirm the voter's identity, so if your ballot return envelope is not signed your ballot will not be counted.
Early Voting in Person
We recommend voting early whenever possible for the following reasons:
- It’s more flexible – you can schedule your vote around your life instead of scheduling your life around voting.
- The lines are typically shorter – with access to early voting, lines are typically shorter than Election Day polling locations. This also means you’re likely to come into contact with fewer people.
- You’ll help reduce crowds at polling locations on Election Day.
- If something goes wrong, you’ll have time to correct it and have your vote counted.
Early voting in Nevada is easy, and is available to every voter. Voters can vote at any location in their respective county where early voting is offered. Early voting offers the following additional benefits:
- Makes voting more accessible to more citizens;
- Increases voter participation rates;
- Allows more accurate and efficient ballot counts;
- Reduces administrative costs to the taxpayer; and
- Creates a more informed and thoughtful electorate.
Voting in Person on Election Day
- As a Clark County voter, you are entitled to vote at any in person polling location in the county on Election Day. Find a Clark County Election Day polling location.
- On Election Day, the Clark County Elections Department will post an interactive website showing polling locations near you and estimated wait times.
- In Clark County, all Election Day Vote Centers will be mail ballot drop-off sites. You can show up to any Vote Center on Election Day with your filled out and signed mail ballot and vote your mail ballot instead of voting in person if you would like. Check out our Vote by Mail section for more guidance about voting your mail ballot.
Resources
- Election Protection
- Visit 866 Our Vote to view election related deadlines and guidelines for your state, including voter ID information.
- You can call the Election Protection Hotline: 866-OUR-VOTE (1-866-687-8683) if you have voting related questions. You can report issues at polling places through the hotline.
- Clark County Voter Services - Check your voter registration status, update your registration address, make updates to your party, ballot language preferences (available in English, Spanish, and Tagalog), find the contact information for all of your elected officials, and more. We recommend checking out the Registered Voter Services page if you are registered in Clark County.
- Clark County Election Department - Find information and resources for upcoming elections, learn about, and apply to be a poll worker in an upcoming election.
- Nevada Secretary of State Election Website - Find information about statewide updates for voter registration and upcoming elections.
- Living on campus or attending UNLV, you have government officials who represent you, whether or not you are registered to vote here! Elected officials as of 7/23/24 for 4505 S Maryland Parkway (university address) include:
- Representation Commissioner: G - Jim Gibson (D)
- U.S. Senate: Jacky Rosen, Catherine Cortez-Masto
- U.S. Congress: 1 - Dina Titus (D)
- State Senate: 10 - Fabian Donate (D)
- State Assembly: 15 - Howard Watts (D)
- School District: D - Brenda Zamora
- University Regent: 3 - Byron Brooks
- Board of Education: 1 - Tim Hughes
- Minor Civil Division: Las Vegas
- Township: CC Paradise