As Nevadans prepare to vote in the 2024 general election, they shall revisit Question 3, a ballot initiative that proposes a significant transformation in the voting process for Nevada.
After narrowly passing in 2022, the measure seeks to implement ranked-choice voting and open primaries statewide. Its proponents and critics are ramping up to sway voters on this pivotal issue.
The proposed changes would allow all voters to participate in an open primary regardless of party affiliation and use ranked-choice voting in the general election. However, the initiative has sparked debate about its potential impact on voter participation and political extremism.
In a statement to The Nevada Globe, Jordan Kittleson, Policy Director of the Center for Election Integrity at the America First Policy Institute, criticized the system.
“Ranked-choice voting is a confusing, chaotic, disenfranchising system where the person with the most votes doesn’t always win, which is essentially un-American to its core,” Kittleson said. “This system scam manufactures a majority vote and throws one person, one vote, counted one time totally out the window.”
Director of the Center for Election Integrity Mike Vallante also expressed concerns that the measure would exacerbate political extremism and polarization.
“A jungle primary does nothing to bring people closer together to compromise,” Vallente said.
To rally opposition to Question 3, the American Policy Institute and its coalition partners held grassroots seminars on Thursday, August 1, and Friday, August 2 in Reno and Las Vegas, respectively. The events were to educate the public about the ranked-choice voting system and provide training for poll workers and watchers.
In contrast, supporters of Question 3 argue that the initiative will create an inclusive and less divisive political environment. Mike Draper of the Nevada Voters First PAC stated after its initial passage, “With the passage of Question 3, Nevadans have shown their desire to put Nevada voters first and address political extremism and polarization in our state.”
The Nevada Voters First PAC, which raised $19.5 million for the 2022 election cycle, plans to continue its advocacy efforts. Proponents believe that over 600,000 politically unaffiliated Nevadans will benefit from the chance to vote in an open primary, challenging the current two-party system they see as extreme and divisive.
Critics, however, say that the new system could eliminate political parties from races, lead to ballot exhaustion, decrease voter participation, and undermine the majority of registered voters in Nevada.
“One of the worst things that ranked-choice voting creates is skepticism in elections due to the lack of transparency,” Vallante warned. “People don’t understand how the system is being done. Voters don’t know for days or even weeks who actually won. We should be able to have an instantaneous result. If you think it’s bad now, once a state or city implements RCV, it extends the time to certify an election because you have to keep recounting and recounting and recounting…It’s not whoever gets the most votes, it’s whoever wins a ranked-choice balloting scheme. Ranked-choice voting is really a pollution of the election system.”
The Old Blog in the Desert 
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