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Voting Machines and Instructions
Last Updated on May 23, 2018
Voting Instructions
Click a link below for instructions on how to vote on Clark County's touch-screen machines:
Voting Process
Overview
Your identity and eligibility to vote must be verified at the voting site before you are allowed to vote. Your name and comparison of your handwritten signature to your facsimile signature in the Election Department's records are the standard means of identity verification, but additional information may be required, depending on your specific situation. So, it is always a good idea to bring with you photo identification and your sample ballot. Be aware that the Clerk must announce your name (and party in Primary Elections) aloud, per NRS 293.285. Write-in candidates are prohibited, per NRS 293.270.
Early Voting Before Election Day (Hours and Days Vary by Site)
Any voter registered in Clark County may vote at any early voting site anywhere in the County. Computers at each site connect to the Election Department’s centralized voter registration files. Your record is updated at the time of voting, thus preventing anyone from voting twice. To begin the voting process, give your name to the Computer Clerk and he or she will verify your identity and eligibility to vote, then issue you a voting machine activation card. You may then proceed to a touch-screen voting machine to vote. Insert the card into the machine to activate it for your specific precinct (and party in Primary Elections). When you finish voting, immediately return the card to an election official.
Election Day (Voting is from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.)
On Election Day, any voter registered in Clark County may vote at any Vote Center site anywhere in the County. The voting process is the same as for early voting (see above).
Touch-Screen Electronic Voting Machines
Technology Leader
The Clark County Election Department is recognized throughout the United States as a leader in incorporating technology into the voting process. Both during early voting and on Election Day, you will find voting is quick and easy.
Electronic Touch-Screen Voting Machines
Touch-screen machines are used in all Clark County polling locations. Similar in appearance to an electronic tablet, the machines make voting easy and assist you throughout the voting process. You register your choices and cast your ballot electronically by touching a screen. When you have made all your selections, a printer records your choices and you must confirm they are accurate before casting your ballot. If you have made an error, you void the paper record, correct your mistake on the touch-screen machine, and the printer reprints your selections. After you confirm the printout is accurate, you cast your ballot. The paper record then scrolls out of view and the machine resets for the next voter. The touch-screen machines allow you to vote in either English, Spanish, or Filipino/Taglog, and support audio voting for persons with vision disabilities, as well as sip-and-puff technology.
Optical Scan Paper Ballots
Description
Optical scan paper ballots are used for mail/absentee ballot voting, emergency voting, and challenge voting.
How to Vote an Optical Scan Ballot
Clark County began using this type of voting system for the first time in the 2004 elections. Voters will receive voting instructions when they receive their optical scan paper ballot.
Security
Accuracy and Integrity
Clark County residents can be confident in the accuracy and integrity of each election:
- The electronic touch-screen voting machines are stand-alone units and cannot be “hacked into” because they are not on a network.
- The software used on each machine is obtained directly from the Secretary of State who received it directly from the federal laboratory that tested it. It is then verified with hash coding algorithms to ensure no one has tampered with it and that it is the exact software the federal laboratory tested.
- The machines are stored in a secure environment in which access is limited and monitored by cameras, motion sensors, and various other sensor and personnel monitoring systems.
- The machines are delivered to the polling locations in a manner that prevents anyone from tampering with them without it being immediately evident to election workers.
- Finally, when the election is over, all results are audited. The number of individuals who signed precinct registers are matched with the number of ballots cast, and the electronically recorded results are matched with the results verified by the voters on the paper printouts.