The Old Blog in the Desert

State election directors and politicians from across the country, including those from Nevada, expressed serious concerns to a top U.S. Postal Service official on Tuesday, July 23, about the system’s ability to handle the anticipated surge of mail-in ballots for the November election.

Steven Carter, manager of election and government programs for the USPS, tried to reassure the directors at a meeting in Minneapolis that the system’s Office of Inspector General will publish an election mail report next week containing “encouraging” performance numbers for this year.

“The data that we’re seeing shows improvements in the right direction,” Carter told the Conference of the National Association of State Election Directors. “I think the OIG report is especially complimentary of how we’re handling the election now.”

Earlier this year, the USPS announced plans to cease processing and delivering operations in Reno, moving them to Sacramento, California. The change, affecting mail from several Nevada counties, including Storey and Lyon, is projected to save between $3.1 million and $4.2 million annually.

Governor Joe Lombardo, Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, and Representative Mark Amodei have confronted Postmaster General Louis DeJoy about the move, highlighting concerns over job losses and potential weather-related delays in ballot processing.

DeJoy has defended the change, claiming his “Delivering for America” plan will enhance efficiency and make the postal service operate more like a private business. However, he has not provided evidence to support his claims that service in Nevada will improve at a lower cost.

State election directors remain worried that many ballots won’t be delivered in time to be counted, citing past issues and disruptions from postal facility consolidations. Monica Evans, executive director of the District of Columbia Board of Elections, shared her experience of not receiving her mail ballot for the June primary, forcing her to vote in person.

“We had, at last count, over 80 ballots that were timely mailed as early as May for our June 4 primary election,” Evans said. “We followed up and we just kept getting, ‘We don’t know what happened. We don’t know what happened.’”

Mail-in voting has become a crucial strategy for both parties in maximizing voter turnout for the 2024 election. Now, even Republicans see it as essential for an election likely to be decided by slim margins in swing states.

Bryan Caskey, elections director for Kansas, emphasized the potential impact of delivery delays, even in a jurisdiction with a 95% on-time rate. “That still means that in the state that sends out 100,000 ballots, that’s 5,000 angry voters mad about the mail service,” Caskey said.

Mandy Vigil, president of the National Association of State Election Directors and elections director for New Mexico, appreciated the engagement from USPS but remains concerned about the lack of timely changes.

“We need them to pay attention,” Vigil said. “We’ve been voicing our concerns since last November. But we just aren’t seeing the changes as we’re working through our primary elections.”

Nineteen senators recently wrote to DeJoy about the USPS’s plans for the 2024 election cycle, citing issues from past consolidations. Despite pausing these consolidations until January 2025, lawmakers demand assurances that their resumption won’t lead to further delays in mail delivery.

On my way out of Dayton township and up Six Mile Canyon, and as I drove through the community of Mark Twain, my cell phone suddenly blew up, dinging and dinging until I had to stop and look at it to see what was happening.

“What the hell,” I said.

No, I was not fortunate enough to finally have one of my social media posts go viral. What I did find were thousands of hateful messages sent to me through my several social media apps, which are all connected to Virginia City, Nevada.

That became the start of a week-long slog through a story about alleged racial comments and how social media played a part in taking an isolated incident and turning it into an international news story. But that I left for my news article, published a week later, on Friday, August 9.

In between this, I looked around the Internet and found connections to the situation, with activities that created a broader picture bordering on conspiracy. And yes, I admit that the things I am about to write are mere speculation and not fact-based.

Not until I got home that first Friday would I start to understand why my cell phone had started dinging and was still dinging. Someone in Virginia City stood accused of racist remarks, posted on TikTok for all the world to view.

After watching the five-minute-six-second video upload, I came away with a slightly different take. Yet, being a news reporter, I kept my opinion to myself and worked hard to write an exacting article for my employer.

Setting that aside, I remembered other incidents I had seen in the recent news cycle and recalled the cancellation of a historical event for the weekend in Virginia City. I saw a far-reaching picture once I connected everything.

Before the racial incident, the Rev. Al Sharpton sent a letter to Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, inciting him to investigate former Ahern Rentals owner and CEO and Trump supporter Don Ahern for making racial remarks, calling a truck driver the N-word.

Having watched the TikTok video several times, it seemed all too familiar.

Then, I saw a comment on the TikTok video that said, “And did you notice the silver nooses?”

I returned to the video in question and could not find the frame in which this reported image appeared.

“Okay, so someone knows something about the town, but not the history,” I jotted down in my notes.

For the great unwashed, the silver noose lapel pin, made of silver still being removed from the Comstock Lode, is the symbol used by the cowboy and western reenactment outfit, the 601 Vigilante Group. They dress up on holidays and most weekends to wander about the town as 19th-century characters and unofficial docents.

Then, I began looking at the thousands of comments I had received. Not only did they come at a breakneck speed, but much of the language, syntax, and the myriad of spelling errors seem the same.

Ah, ha — spamming via artificial intelligence. So, good luck tracking down the threats of violence and personal harm.

Then, the annual Virginia City Civil War Days ended up getting canceled. The event had become too politically insensitive after what had happened the weekend before.

Finally, you can see what I am postulating is a conspiracy to develop distrust, divide by racial foment, and separate us from our state’s proud history of having helped save the Union within the 15 rural counties in Nevada, the same ones that generally and historically vote Republican. We’ll know I am right should this happen again in another little Nevada burg.

As a side note, in self-defense, I deleted most of my multiple apps after running out of steam trying to outpace the little nasties I was getting. Right now, I am enjoying life without the buggers, and I’m contemplating never reinstalling the damned things.

It is now time to retrieve a beer from the fridge, grab a seat at the mouth of my open garage, and watch the world go by.

Reports have surfaced suggesting that President Joe Biden suffered a severe fall during a recent visit to Las Vegas. The incident took place at Lindo Michocan, a well-known local Mexican restaurant, where Biden is said to have fallen and severely hit his head.

Eyewitnesses described the president as looking “real bad” after the fall, with some sources going so far as to say he appeared to be on “death’s doorstep.”

According to these accounts, Biden was initially en route to the University Medical Center (UMC) for emergency treatment. However, the president was reportedly diverted to the airport instead and flown out of state.

Local news outlets, often criticized for their alleged bias, quickly reported that Biden was merely “ill,” downplaying the severity of the situation. The narrative has raised eyebrows, especially considering Biden withdrew from public appearances shortly after, despite previous assertions that he was in good health.

Adding to the speculation, observers noted that when Biden reappeared a few days later, he seemed noticeably taller, and a recording of him raised further suspicions. These unusual circumstances have fueled rumors that the incident was more consequential than reported.

Reports indicate that the Secret Service refused to allow Biden to use stairs during his walking route to the podium at Mandalay Bay, the hotel linked to the controversial Las Vegas shooting that mainstream media rarely discusses.

Questions have also arisen about Biden’s previous visit to Las Vegas, in which cameras were not allowed, and the general public was from his “public” rally, with only a select few union members attending. It has led to speculation about the nature of Biden’s health and the administration’s transparency.

There are parallels between Biden’s presidency and Vice President Kamala Harris, whom they describe as a “Biden 2.0” with even more divisive policies. Efforts are underway to sanitize Harris’s public image in preparation for a potential transition of power.

The administration has not responded to these reports, leaving the public with more questions than answers about Biden’s health and the implications for the nation’s leadership.

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 Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed Libra Solar Project in Lyon and Mineral Counties.

The project, spearheaded by Libra Solar, LLC, a subsidiary of Arevia Power, plans to construct, operate, maintain, and decommission a 700-megawatt (MW) solar facility along with a 700 MW energy storage system and a 24-mile-long generation line, under a 30-year BLM right-of-way grant. The project would generate and store enough clean energy to power over 212,000 homes.

The proposed solar facility would occupy approximately 5,141 acres of public lands in Mineral County, with the generation tie-line connecting to the Fort Churchill substation in Lyon County.

“BLM manages vast stretches of public lands that have the potential to make significant contributions to the nation’s renewable energy portfolio,” said Kim Dow, Carson City District Manager. “To promote the development of these energy sources, BLM provides sites for environmentally sound development of renewable energy on public lands.”

The Department of the Interior recently announced that the BLM had achieved the milestone of permitting 25 gigawatts of clean energy projects, encompassing solar, wind, geothermal, and transmission lines that cross public lands to connect renewable energy projects on private lands to the grid. As of July 2024, an additional 70 utility-scale clean energy projects—with more than 32 gigawatts of renewable energy—are being processed by the BLM throughout the western United States.

Moreover, the agency has begun reviewing over 170 solar and wind development applications and more than 40 solar and wind energy testing sites.

Manning Ventures Inc. has received geochemical results from ALS Global for rock samples collected during its geological mapping on the Copper Hill Project, located within the Walker Lane Trend in Yerington.

The geochemical analysis revealed elevated values, particularly from sample CHR-9, which returned 2.01 percent copper, 0.263 grams-per-ton gold, and two grams-per-ton of silver. These samples were from a chip taken from a three-by-three-foot outcropping. Additionally, rock samples CHR-11 to CHR-13, taken from mine dumps on adjacent claims, returned copper values of 1.74 percent, 2.03 percent, and 4.77 percent, respectively.

Sample CHR-9 displayed 2.01 percent copper, .298 parts per million gold, and two parts per million silver. Sample CHR-11 showed 1.74 percent copper, .223 parts per million in gold, and three parts per million in silver.

Sample CHR-12 contained 2.03 percent copper, 0.257 parts per million gold, and 2.30 parts per million silver. Finally, sample CHR-13 reported 4.77 percent copper, 0.659 parts per million gold, and eight parts per million silver.

Before Manning’s current exploration program, 50 rock chip samples from historic mine dumps, prospect pits, and outcrops were collected. The samples returned copper values ranging from 10 to 136,500 parts per million and gold values from .005 to .33 parts per million.

The data collected during the spring 2024 mapping program has been added to the historic rock sampling into the property’s database. The Company has accumulated substantial pre-drill data and is in the final stages of planning an initial drill program at Copper Hill.

The Lyon County Sheriff’s Office (LSCO) responded to a disturbance on Brookfield Ct. in Dayton just after 10 p.m. on Thursday, July 25.

Deputies were dispatched and soon identified the suspect as 49-year-old Paul Carnahan of Dayton. Initial reports revealed that Carnahan had left a residence armed with a knife and was suffering from multiple injuries.

Further investigation determined that Carnahan had allegedly battered a female subject before fleeing the scene. Given the circumstances, including his armed status and presence in a residential neighborhood, a shelter-in-place advisory was issued for residents.

The initial shelter-in-place advisory had prompted concerns among Dayton residents, particularly in the areas of Woodlake Circle, Brookfield, and Woodside, where Carnahan was witnessed wearing a black shirt and possibly bearing cuts on his neck, forehead, and wrists.

Deputies searched for Carnahan throughout the night. The following morning, at around 8:30 a.m. on Friday, July 26, deputies located and arrested Carnahan without further incident. He was treated for his injuries, transported to the Lyon County Jail, and booked on a charge of domestic battery.

The LCSO issued an update stating that Carnahan was apprehended and advised residents that the shelter-in-place warning was no longer in effect.

The Reno City Council made abrupt changes to a resolution opposing NV Energy’s proposed rate hike.

Initially, the agenda included a resolution opposing the proposed rate hike, which would become the highest basic service charge in the nation. However, without public knowledge or input, the council secretly revised the resolution, presenting and passing a new version that no longer contained any opposition to the substantial rate increase.

NV Energy requested that the rate change go into effect on Tuesday, October 1. The rate hike will increase NV Energy’s revenue by $94.8 million yearly.

If approved, basic service charges for Reno will soar to $45.30, surpassing the current highest known basic service charge in the U.S. at $37.41.

The sun was setting over the vast expanse of Silver Creek Ranch, casting a golden glow on the rolling hills and grazing cattle. The ranch had been in the McAllister family for generations, but now, it was under threat from Cyrus Blackwood, a greedy banker with a ruthless gang of rustlers.

Kate McAllister, the rancher’s daughter, stood on the porch, her eyes scanning the horizon. She had heard rumors of Blackwood’s plans to seize the ranch by any means necessary. Her father, John McAllister, was determined to fight but was sickly with the consumption.

Then, a lone rider appeared on the horizon as if answering her silent prayer. Jake Wade was a drifter with a reputation for helping those in need. He had heard of the McAllisters’ plight and had come to offer his assistance.

Jake rode up to the ranch house, his presence commanding respect.

“Evening, Miss McAllister,” he greeted, tipping his hat. “I hear you could use some help.”

Kate’s eyes lit up with hope, knowing who he was by sight.

“We sure could, Mr. Wade. Blackwood’s men have been rustling our cattle and threatening to take the ranch. They’ve already managed to cut off our access to our spring.”

Jake nodded, his jaw set with determination.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

Jake scouted the ranch, familiarizing himself with the land and the layout. As the sun set over the rugged Nevada landscape, he found the remnants of hoof print that correctly read told him that a dozen or more rustlers had stolen at least fifty head of cattle from Silver Creek Ranch.

The outlaws were moving swiftly into Utah territory, hoping to evade capture. Jake followed their trail for days, determined to bring them to justice.

As night fell, Jake set up camp in a secluded grove, his senses on high alert. He knew the rustlers were dangerous and would not hesitate to ambush him if given the chance. The flickering light of his campfire cast eerie shadows, and the silence of the night was broken only by the distant howl of a coyote.

Unbeknownst to Jake, the rustlers had doubled back, planning to catch him off guard. Led by Malone, a ruthless outlaw with a reputation for brutality, the gang crept through the darkness, their eyes fixed on the lone rider’s camp.

Suddenly, a shot rang out, shattering the stillness of the night. Jake dove for cover, his instincts honed by years of survival. A bullet grazed his shoulder, the pain sharp and immediate. He gritted his teeth, knowing he had to stay focused.

The rustlers closed in, their guns blazing. Jake returned fire, his shots precise and deadly.

One by one, the outlaws fell, but their numbers were overwhelming. Jake knew he had to outsmart them if he wanted to survive.

Using the cover of darkness, Jake moved silently through the grove, picking off the rustlers with calculated precision. The gunfight raged through the early evening, the air thick with the smell of gunpowder and the sound of gunfire echoing through the night.

As dawn approached, the rustlers’ numbers had dwindled, but Malone remained. The two men faced off in a showdown, their eyes locked in a deadly stare. Bart sneered, his gun aimed at Jake.

“You think you can take me, Wade?” Bart taunted. “I’ve killed better men than you.”

Jake’s eyes narrowed, his grip steady on his revolver. “This ends now, Malone.”

With lightning speed, both men fired. Jake’s shot hit its mark, striking Malone in the chest.

The outlaw staggered, his gun falling from his hand as he collapsed to the ground. Jake, wounded but victorious, approached cautiously, ensuring the outlaw was no longer a threat.

The sun rose over the horizon, casting a warm glow on the aftermath of the battle. Jake, his body aching from the wounds, gathered the stolen cattle and began the long journey back to Silver Creek Ranch.

As he rode into the ranch, Kate rushed to his side, her eyes filled with concern.

“Jake, you’re hurt!” she exclaimed.

Jake managed a weary smile.

“Just a scratch, Miss McAllister. The cattle are safe.”

“Thank you, Jake,” John McAllister said, shaking the wounded man’s hand.

Jake nodded, “Don’t thank me yet, there is still something I have to do.”

Later that day, Jake rode into the little town of River Rock. He was searching out Blackwood.

Furious at the failure of his plan, Blackwood confronted Wade before Wade could confront him.

“You think you’ve won, Wade? This isn’t over!”

Jake’s eyes were cold and unyielding.

“It’s over, Blackwood,” Jake said.

From beneath his banker’s coat, Blackwood defiantly pulled a pistol, his eyes filled with malice. But Jake was quicker.

In a flash, he drew his revolver and fired, the bullet striking Blackwood square in the chest. The banker staggered, dropping to his knees, his gun firing wildly into the ground.

Jake stepped forward, his gaze cold and unyielding.

“Do you remember the Missourah farmer you killed in front of his twelve-year-old son, Blackwood?” he asked, his voice steady. “That boy was me.”

Blackwood’s eyes widened in sudden recognition, the realization hitting him like a freight train. He gasped for breath, his strength fading.

With one final, desperate look, he fell face-first into the dust, his reign of terror over. Jake stood over him, the weight of years of vengeance lifting from his shoulders.

Without another word, Jake holstered his gun and turned away silently back to the Silver Creek Ranch.

“Thank you, Jake,” John said.

Jake nodded, his expression unreadable.

“Just doing what’s right.”

Kate approached, her heart full of admiration and something more.

“Jake, you could stay. There’s a place for you here.”

Jake looked at her, his eyes softening for a moment. But he knew his path was a solitary one.

ithout a word, he mounted his horse and rode away, the setting sun casting a long shadow behind him. Kate watched him go, a mixture of sadness, respect, and hope in her heart that Jake Wade would return one day.

State campaign finance reports released by Monday’s deadline showed a tight fundraising battle across the races most likely to determine whether Nevada Democrats can secure a legislative supermajority.

Across ten contested legislative races throughout the second quarter, Democratic and Republican candidates each led the fundraising race in five. Meanwhile, PACs affiliated with Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo continued to pour money into the coffers of prominent GOP candidates, and those supporting ballot questions on ranked-choice voting, abortion rights, and voter ID donated millions of dollars to the PACs behind the initiatives.

The latest campaign finance reports offer the penultimate look at fundraising data for Nevada political candidates and committees ahead of the general election, covering April through June. It also provides more insight into the head-to-head fundraising data for key legislative races after last month’s primaries winnowed each race to one Democrat and one Republican.

Democrats control 13 seats in the 21-member state Senate (one short of the two-thirds supermajority needed to override a veto) and 28 seats—a supermajority—in the 42-member Assembly. The outcome of a few races could change whether Lombardo’s ability to veto bills stands or is overridden by a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber.

In total, more than $2.3 million in donations came to the candidates running in the ten most competitive legislative races, identified by district partisanship, as groups poured more than $10 million into organizations either supporting or opposing the various ballot initiatives and bolstered by a $5.75 million haul by a group supporting the ballot question on ranked-choice voting and open primaries and $1.4 million raised by a Lombardo-affiliated PAC supporting the voter ID initiative.

Across the ten most competitive legislative races, six of the candidates who raised more money in the second quarter are of the opposite party than the seat is currently held by Sen. Dallas Harris (D-Las Vegas) with $171,000 in Senate District 11, about $60,000 more than her GOP challenger, Lori Rogich. Harris also has about $370,000 in cash, roughly $10,000 more than Rogich.

Assemblywoman Elaine Marzola (D-Las Vegas) raised about $104,000 in Assembly District 21, $10,000 more than her GOP challenger, April Arndt. However, Marzola has a significant lead in cash on hand with about $278,000 compared to Arndt’s $58,000.

Republican Diana Sande raised about $175,000—the second-most among all key candidates—much higher than Assemblywoman Selena La Rue Hatch (D-Reno), who raised $60,000. Sande also has about $100,000 more cash than La Rue Hatch in Assembly District 25.

In Assembly District 29, Republican Annette Dawson Owens raised $88,000, compared to Democrat Joe Dalia’s $80,000. Dalia, however, has around $85,000 more in cash than Dawson Owens.

In Assembly District 35, vacated by Assemblywoman Michelle Gorelow (D-Las Vegas), Republican Rebecca Edgeworth has raised about $130,000 more than her Democrat opponent Sharifa Wahab, whose haul of about $27,000 was the lowest among any candidate in a race. Edgeworth also has about $100,000 more in cash on hand.

Republican David Brog raised $128,000 in Assembly District 37, about $20,000 more than Assemblywoman Shea Backus (D-Las Vegas). Backus, however, has a more than $25,000 lead in cash on hand.

Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas) raised over $190,000 in Assembly District 41, the most of any candidate in a race. Her Republican opponent, Rafael Arroyo, raised $70,000. Jauregui also has a lead of more than $260,000 in cash on hand.

Sen. Carrie Buck (R-Henderson) raised $174,000 toward her re-election bid in Senate District 5, while Democrat Jennifer Atlas raised about $114,000. Buck also has a lead of about $115,000 in cash on hand.

In Senate District 15, which is likely the best chance for a Democratic pickup in the Senate because of redistricting, Assemblywoman Angie Taylor (D-Reno) raised $110,000 in her bid to take the seat vacated by Sen. Heidi Seevers Gansert (R-Reno). Republican Mike Ginsburg, meanwhile, raised $75,000 and has a cash-on-hand lead of about $7,000.

In Assembly District 4, Democrat Ryan Hampton raised $173,000 compared to Republican Lisa Cole’s haul of $140,000. Hampton also has about $100,000 more in cash on hand than Cole.

Millions of dollars poured into Lombardo’s campaign machine through several PACs supporting the governor and his legislative candidates. The most public-facing one is the Better Nevada PAC, which received millions last year from Lombardo’s top campaign donor, Robert Bigelow.

In 2022, the PAC unleashed attacks against legislative Democrats embroiled in a “culture of corruption.” Better Nevada PAC raised more than $2.3 million, bolstered by a $1.6 million donation from the Las Vegas Sands and The Venetian, a company founded by late GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson and now led by his widow, Miriam Adelson. It also received $100,000 from Uber.

The PAC spent $2 million on consulting and advertising last quarter. It also contributed to Republican candidates running in nine races, except Ginsburg, whose race is among the likely Democratic victories.

Additionally, Better Nevada transferred $1.4 million to a new PAC called the Better Nevada Ballot Advocacy Committee, which formed in May, to focus on supporting a voter ID ballot initiative. The initiative gathered more than 179,000 signatures in support and is awaiting approval from county election officials, which is due to state officials Thursday.

Another Lombardo-affiliated PAC is the Nevada Way PAC, which raised $630,000, with a $250,000 donation from Boyd Gaming Corporation. The PAC donated money to candidates in eight legislative races (all except Ginsburg and Buck). The Stronger Nevada PAC, a pro-Lombardo group run by former Lt. Gov. Mark Hutchison, also paid for in-kind media production services valued at $5,000 each for 11 Republican candidates, including Washoe County Commissioner Clara Andriola and many other legislative candidates.

In addition to the Lombardo-backed group on voter ID raising $1.4 million, three other groups supporting ballot initiatives received at least $1 million in donations from April through June. Nevadans for Reproductive Freedom, the group behind the ballot initiative to establish a constitutional right to abortion in Nevada, raised about $1.4 million, roughly the same amount raised last quarter.

It included $550,000 from the Tides Foundation, a left-leaning philanthropic fund with ties to Democratic megadonor George Soros, and $150,000 from Think Big America, a nonprofit tied to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker that had previously given $1 million to the initiative. Quinn Delaney, a prominent Democratic donor, also gave $250,000 to the group.

Vote Yes on 3, a new group supporting Question 3 on the November ballot, which would establish open primaries and ranked-choice voting for non-presidential races, raised $5.75 million in the quarter. The haul included $4 million from Article IV, a Virginia-based group that bills itself as a nonpartisan group focused on improving democracy. The group also received $1.5 million from Unite America, a philanthropic fund dedicated to election reform, and $250,000 from Wynn Resorts.

The other seven-figure donation made by Uber was $1 million to Nevadans for Fair Recovery, a group backing the ballot initiative that seeks to cap attorney fees in Nevada at 20 percent of all settlements and awards. The ride-sharing company previously gave $4 million to the group.

This initiative is not vying for a spot on the November ballot but is instead seeking to address the 2025 legislative session. If it gets enough votes to do so and the Legislature does not act on it, the question could go before voters in the 2026 election.

A group of Nevada trial lawyers filed a lawsuit earlier this year seeking to block the petition, arguing its intention is to slow the sexual misconduct suits against Uber. While its initial effort failed, the suit is under appeal in the Nevada Supreme Court.

Citizens for Justice, the political arm of the Nevada Justice Association (the group behind the lawsuit), raised $2 million and spent about $340,000 in the second quarter. It is unclear how much of this was related to the petition. This haul is six times as much as the group’s first-quarter fundraising total.

Former Rep. Shelley Berkley raised $255,000 and has $500,000 in cash In the Las Vegas mayoral race. Her general election opponent, Las Vegas City Councilwoman Victoria Seaman, raised $247,000 and has $269,000 in cash.

Senate Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro (D-Las Vegas) is not facing a particularly competitive race this year but has more than $1 million in cash. She could be eyeing a run for statewide office in 2026.

In Senate District 3, Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D-Las Vegas) emerged victorious over a Culinary Union-backed challenger. Nguyen’s campaign finance report revealed she brought in a remarkable $400,000 and spent $565,000 in the quarter, with donations from casinos and unions.