Tracking Clark County mail-in ballots for the 2024 general election

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Big decisions will be made for Clark County voters this election cycle.

While some people think a lot about who and what issues to vote for, others may not give as much thought to a mail-in ballot once it’s mailed.

Clark County election officials showed FOX5 what happens to a mail-in ballot when it arrives at the election center. The county wants to make sure people sign the return envelope of their mail-in ballot.

“Very important. They have to provide that. This is what the state of Nevada requires us to look at, review and verify in order to count the ballots,” said Clark County Registrar of Voters Lorena Portillo.

Portillo says that in the 2022 general election, more than 14,000 people either did not sign their ballot envelopes before mailing them in or the signatures could not be verified against those on record.

The county attempted to contact those people but said it was unsuccessful in contacting about 7,000 people. These ballots were rejected and the votes did not count.

Election officials showed the path of a mail-in ballot once it arrives at the election center.

First you go to a reception area where the ballot envelope is scanned and the signature is recorded. The scanned signatures are then verified by the automatic signature recognition program.

The county says envelopes with unverified signatures undergo a manual review in which nonpartisan teams compare envelope signatures on file with the DMV or on voter registration forms.

From there, the ballot envelopes are sorted according to the district’s information to separate those with and without a certified signature.

During the process, a machine then opens the ballot envelope.

A bipartisan team of two, who may not be from the same party, removes the ballot from the envelope to ensure it is in good condition so it can be fed through a machine for tabulation.

If the ballot is torn or you spill something on it, it will be taken to the ballot duplication room where a copy will be made.

After a few more steps, the ballots finally reach the tabulation area where they are counted.

People can check their registration information to make sure it includes contact phone numbers, an address or an email address in case the county needs to speak to them about voting. There is also much more information voters can find at clarkcountynv.gov/elections. If you have any questions, you can also call the Clark County Election Department at 702-455-vote (8683).

Early voting begins Saturday, October 19th and runs through Friday, November 1st. Election day is Tuesday, November 5th.

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