Voting in a primary is important, even more so in non-presidential election years when voter turnout is generally low, thus those who choose to vote are the ones responsible for choosing candidates who will either advance to the general election or may win in the primary.
On Tuesday, May 17 at 6 p.m., the Chamber will be hosting a primary candidates forum in the Marlette Room at Western Nevada College to allow local voters the opportunity to meet and hear from the local candidates running for the Nevada Senate and Assembly seats as well as for three non-partisan races to include Carson City Board of Supervisors ward 3, Carson City clerk-recorder, and Carson City school board district 1 trustee.
Some races already were decided during the filing period when there were no opposing candidates that filed, thus Jason Woodbury will serve as district attorney for another four years, as will Sheriff Kenny Furlong and City Treasurer Andrew Rasor. New to the election process but not attracting an opponent is Kimberly Adams, who will serve as the city assessor, replacing term-limited Dave Dawley. The current school trustees in districts 3 and 4 also will retain their seats.
Because Carson City does not have a visual media presence, the Chamber holds primary forums to allow Carson City residents to meet and listen to the candidates in person. While there is a plethora of written materials, there is nothing like being able to assess the candidate in person. After the prepared question and answer period, attendees are welcome to ask questions.
In the non-presidential 2018 primary election, there were a total of 29,459 registered Carson City voters of which 9,058 (30.72%) turned out to cast their ballot. Compare this to the 2018 general election where there was a turnout of 72.38% of active voters.
According to the stats on the Nevada Secretary of State site, as of April 2022, Carson City now shows 39,027 active voters. Currently, there is a Republican majority of 15,012 with Democrats (10,478) and nonpartisans (10,397) almost equal in voter size.
The sample ballots were mailed during the week of May 9 and as indicated in the FAQ’s, Nevada is a closed primary state, thus those registered non-partisan cannot vote in partisan races. All can vote in non-partisan races.
The Carson City Chamber is non-partisan and does not support any candidate. The primary candidates forum is open to all as a public service to our community.
