Washoe County voters will start receiving mail-in ballots this week

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) -Voters who live in Washoe County will begin receiving their ballots this week, Washoe County said Wednesday.

In-state ballots are required to be mailed by May 25. The first batch of in-state ballots were mailed from the printer on Wednesday ad sample ballots will soon fallow.

People can use the ballot mailed to them, which was sent automatically unless they opted out, or they can take part in early balloting at designated locations from May 28 to June 10, or they can vote on Primary Election Day on June 14.

People who use ballots sent to them can return them by mail or drop them off at designated places.

People who do not get their mail-in ballots by May 28 or feel there is a mistake with voter registration can call the Registrar of Voters Office at 775-328-3670.

Military and overseas ballots had to be mailed by April 29 and out-of-state ballots were mailed by May 5.

More information is available at the county election website.

Washoe County passed along this information about mail-in ballots:

• A new ballot is triggered when there is a change to their residential address or party affiliation for their voter registration up to May 30. It is possible to receive a ballot, then make a change that will trigger a new ballot to be issued. This invalidates the previous ballot and only the most recently issued ballot is valid. Changes made after May 30, will not receive a new mail-in ballot.
• It is very important to follow the directions printed on the ballot. Be sure to sign where indicated and put only one ballot in the return envelope. If more than one ballot is in the envelope, all ballots will be invalidated.
• Because this is a primary election and voters can only vote in their party’s races and nonpartisan races, numerous versions of ballots are created. Nonpartisan voters can only vote in nonpartisan races. Your ballot is specific to you, your party and where you live.
• Mail-in ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received by the Washoe County Registrar of Voters Office within four days after the election to be counted.
• If there is an issue with your signature verification – the signature on your ballot does not match the signature on your voter registration – you will be contacted to “cure” your ballot. This means you will be asked identifying information to ensure that the ballot is yours.  Voters have until June 20 to cure their ballots.
• Attempting to vote twice, vote for someone else, or otherwise defraud the election is a crime. Mailing in a ballot and appearing to vote in person is voter fraud.
• If you receive a ballot for someone else, simply write “Not at this address” on the outside of the ballot envelope and send back to the Registrar of Voters Office. This will assist the office in keeping its voter rolls current.
• Sample ballots will also be mailed in batches. Sample ballots are clearly marked as “Sample” and they include all the races in the election and important information on vote center locations and hours. In-person voters may find it useful to make their selections on their sample ballot and bring it with them to vote in person. A digital version of the sample ballot is available online here.

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