Secretary of State: Nevada sets multiple turnout records in 2024

Nevada’s large turnout was in part attributed to voters aged 18-29 turning out, of which about 57% of registered voters in that demographic casted a ballot — well above the national average. 

Nevada voters this year turned out in record numbers, propelled in large part by a surge in young voters, Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar’s office announced this week. 

Nearly 73% of the state’s 2 million active registered voters (1.49 million people) cast a ballot either by mail, on Election Day, or during the 10-day early voting period preceding this year’s Nov. 5 election — breaking the previous record from 2020, when roughly 1.43 million Nevada voters participated. Nearly half (45%) of voters cast their ballots by mail and more than one-third (37%) took part in early voting; 18% voted on Election Day. Clark County’s largest polling place, Allegiant Stadium, saw more than 4,000 voters on Nov. 5. 

But Nevada’s large turnout was in part attributed to voters aged 18-29 casting ballots, Aguilar’s office said in a release Tuesday. Approximately 57% of voters in that demographic cast a ballot — well above the national average of 42%, and eclipses the previous record of 53.1% who turned out in 2020. Additionally, a record 6,848 voters utilized the expanded absentee voting system now available to disabled and tribal voters that, until this year, was only accessible to overseas citizens, active duty military personnel or their families. 

Although many races weren’t called until later in the week, implementation of a new “top-down” voter registration system and additional tabulation equipment in urban areas like Clark and Washoe counties helped get results out sooner, with more than 90% of results posted on election night, Aguilar said in a statement. 

“I would like to thank voters across Nevada for making the 2024 general election such a success,” Aguilar, a Democrat, said in the release. “For years I’ve been saying Nevada runs some of the most secure, transparent, and accessible elections in the country, and our whole state came together to show how true that is.” 

Aguilar also praised the thousands of Nevadans who volunteered as poll workers. More than 3,000 Nevadans enlisted to work the polls through a partnership with the nonprofit Vet the Vote, and new outreach programs with high schools statewide helped recruit eligible students. And while poll worker harassment became a growing concern following the 2022 election — so much so that a new law was enacted last year establishing criminal penalties for the harassment or abuse of elections officials — Aguilar’s office said that it had received no complaints of incidences needing law enforcement intervention. 

Republican President-elect Donald Trump carried Nevada for the first time in his political career but all four of the Silver State’s incumbent Congressional Democrats won their re-election bids, and Democrats additionally retained majorities in both chambers of the state legislature. 

But from an administration standpoint, Aguilar said the system worked exactly as it was designed. Coupled with new voter resources like ballot tracking services for early and mail-in ballots, as well as bolstered signature curing efforts, Aguilar said his office will continue to look for ways to improve election administration and will collaborate with lawmakers in the upcoming legislative session. 

“None of this would be possible without the tireless work of our election administrators across Nevada,” Aguilar said. “We know that everything wasn’t perfect, and there’s always more that can be done. That’s why my Office is already hard at work preparing for the 2025 legislative session to partner with the Governor and lawmakers to improve Nevada’s election-related statutes in time for the 2026 election cycle.”