Nevada Question 3, Top-Five Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative (2022)

Nevada Question 3
Election date November 8, 2022
Topic Electoral systems
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin Citizens

Nevada Question 3, the Top-Five Ranked-Choice Voting Initiative, was on the ballot in Nevada as an initiated constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. The ballot measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported establishing open top-five primaries and ranked-choice voting for general elections, which would apply to congressional, gubernatorial, state executive official, and state legislative elections.

A "no" vote opposed establishing open top-five primaries and ranked-choice voting for general elections, which would apply to congressional, gubernatorial, state executive official, and state legislative elections.

In Nevada, initiated constitutional amendments need to be approved in two even-numbered election years, meaning that Question 3 needs to be approved in 2022 and 2024 to amend the Nevada Constitution. As Question 3 was approved in 2022, a second vote will be held on November 5, 2024.

Election results

Nevada Question 3
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		524,868	52.94%
No		466,635	47.06%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

How would Question 3 change elections in Nevada?

Question 3 would establish open top-five primaries and ranked-choice voting for general elections.

Under Ballot Measure 3, candidates would run in a single primary election, regardless of a candidate's party affiliation. The five candidates that receive the most votes advance to the general election.

At the general election, voters would elect state and federal candidates using ranked-choice voting. For state executive, state legislative, and congressional elections, voters would rank the five candidates that advanced from their top-five primaries. A candidate needs a simple majority of the vote (50%+1) to be declared the winner of an election. If no candidate wins a simple majority of the vote, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated. People who voted for that candidate as their first choice would have their votes redistributed to their next choice. The tabulation process would continue as rounds until a candidate receives a majority of the vote and is declared the winner.

Do other states and cities use ranked-choice voting?

As of 2022, Maine and Alaska both used ranked-choice voting in certain elections. In 2020, Alaska voters approved Ballot Measure 2, which replaced partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices, as well as establishing ranked-choice voting for general elections, including the presidential election. In 2016, Maine voters approved Question 5, a ballot measure that established a statewide system of ranked-choice voting to elect U.S. senators, U.S. representatives, the governor, state senators, and state representatives, but not for the U.S. presidential election.

New York City voters also approved Ballot Question 1 in 2019 which established ranked-choice voting to be used for primary and special elections beginning in 2021 for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and city council members.

Who was behind the campaigns surrounding this ballot initiative?

The Nevada Voters First PAC was sponsoring the initiative. The PAC raised $22.9 million. The top donors were Katherine Gehl; Action Now, Inc.; The Final Five Fund. Inc; Kenneth Griffin,; Kathryn Murdoch; John Sobrato; and Unite America, Inc.

The Protect Your Vote Nevada PAC was the campaign in opposition to this initiative. The PAC has raised $2.42 million. The top donors were Nevada Alliance, Majority Forward, and the Nevada Conservation League.

What were the arguments for and against this initiative?

In support of this initiative, Sondra Cosgrove, professor of history at the College of Southern Nevada, said that voters should have more options. “We want to have more options. We don’t want just two people moving forward from the primary to the general election. We want five people, because oftentimes when you look at the people who move forward, it’s just the people with the most money,” she said.

In opposition to this initiative, Emily Persaud-Zamora, executive director of Silver State Voices, said that ranked-choice voting could be confusing and make the voting process more complicated. "Ranked choice voting makes casting a ballot more time consuming, more complicated and more confusing for voters ... It will inevitably lead to increased errors. Ranked choice vote ballots are significantly more likely to be thrown out and uncounted because of those voters’ mistakes, ultimately disenfranchising more voters because of an overly complex and burdensome process,” she said.

Reactions

Following is a list of reactions regarding the voter approval of Question 3.

• The communications director for Nevada Voters First said, "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. By opening Nevada’s primaries and utilizing ranked choice voting in the general election, Question 3 will guarantee that all registered voters have a voice in how they’re represented and that elected officials are held more accountable to a true majority of Nevadans — not just the most extreme voices in the political parties."
• RepresentUs said, "Voters said “YES” to Question 3, which asked if the state should use a final-five nonpartisan primary and Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) combination to elect candidates … The measure has to pass again in 2024 to officially become law for the 2026 election. If Question 3 passes again in 2024, Nevada will become the third (and largest!) state in the nation to use RCV for statewide elections. As Alaska and Maine have shown, RCV ensures winning candidates receive support from the majority of voters. It also gives voters the opportunity to rank candidates in order of preference, rather than forcing them to choose between the 'lesser of two evils.'"

Measure design

Click on the arrows (▼) below for summaries of the different provisions of the constitutional amendment.

Top-five primaries: Establishes top-five primaries for partisan office

Top-five primary elections would be established for partisan office.

This includes elections for the offices of United States Senator, United States Representative, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, and State Legislators. However, this excludes the offices of President of the United States and Vice President of the United States.

A top-five primary would replace partisan primaries with an open top-five primary. The primary would no longer elect a single candidate as the party’s candidate for the general election, but would instead narrow down the field of candidates to the top five for the general election.

A person could become a candidate for office regardless of party affiliation or lack thereof.

Any registered voter could cast a primary candidate for any candidate, regardless of the party affiliation of the voter or of the candidate.

The five candidates receiving the greatest number of votes in the primary election would advance to the general election. If there were five or fewer candidates running for office, the primary election would still be held and the results made public.

If one of the top five candidates withdraws, disqualifies, or dies after the primary election but before 5 p.m. on the fourth Friday in July, the candidate that received the next greatest number of votes at the primary election would be made a nominee and would advance to the general election.

Ranked-choice voting: Establishes ranked choice voting for general elections for partisan office

Under this measure, all general elections for partisan office would be conducted by ranked-choice voting.

This includes elections for the offices of United States Senator, United States Representative, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, and State Legislators. However, this excludes the offices of President of the United States and Vice President of the United States.

Under the measure, the ballot would have to be designed so that the voter is able to mark candidates in the order of their preference and mark as many candidates as the voter wishes, however, the voter cannot assign the same ranking to more than one candidate.

When counting the ballots, the election official would initially tabulate each cast ballot as one vote for the highest-ranked candidate on that ballot, or as an inactive ballot. If a candidate is highest ranked on the majority of ballots, that candidate is elected. If no candidate is the highest ranked on a majority of ballots, the tabulation will proceed to another round. In the next round, the candidate with the fewest amount of votes would be eliminated, and the next-highest-ranked candidate on those ballots would be added to the vote totals. This process would continue until a candidate wins the majority of votes.

A voter could choose to rank just one candidate for office, and that vote would be tabulated.

Under this measure, if a voter has assigned the same ranking to more than one candidate, that ballot would be considered inactive. If a ballot skips a ranking, then the election board would count the next ranking. If the next ranking is another skipped ranking, the ballot would be considered an inactive ballot for that race. Any votes made for “none of these candidates” would be tabulated, recorded, and made public, but not counted for the purposes of ranking.

If there is a tie between the final two candidates, the winner would be decided in a manner as provided by statute. If there is a tie between two candidates with the fewest votes, the eliminated candidate would be decided by lot.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The official ballot title was as follows:

“

Question 3: Amendment to the Nevada Constitution: Shall the Nevada Constitution be amended to allow all Nevada voters the right to participate in open primary elections to choose candidates for the general election in which all voters may then rank the remaining candidates by preference for the offices of U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, Attorney General, and State Legislators?

”

Ballot summary

The official ballot summary was as follows:

“

This initiative, if enacted, changes Articles 5 and 15 of Nevada’s Constitution for U.S. Congressional, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, Attorney General, and State Legislator elections, eliminating partisan primaries and establishing an open top-five primary election and a ranked-choice voting general election. For these offices, all candidates and voters participate in a single primary election regardless of party affiliation or non-affiliation. The top five finishers advance to the general election, and the general election winner is determined by ranked-choice voting: General election voters will rank the candidates in order of preference from first to last, if they wish to rank more than just their first preference. As currently provided for during certain primary races, a general election candidate receiving first-choice votes of more than 50% is declared winner. If no candidate is the first choice of more than 50% of the voters in the general election, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Each voter who had ranked the now eliminated candidate as their first choice, has their single vote transferred to their next highest choice candidate. This tabulation process repeats until the one candidate with more than 50% support is determined as the winner. If passed, the Legislature would need to adopt implementing legislation by July 1, 2025. These changes would go into effect for the 2026 election cycle, starting with the primary election in June 2026. A “Yes” vote would amend Articles 5 & 15 of the Nevada Constitution to allow all Nevada voters the right to participate in open primary elections to choose candidates for the general election in which all voters may then rank the remaining candidates by preference for the offices of U.S. Senators, U.S. Representatives, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, Attorney General, and State Legislators. A “No” vote would retain the provisions of Articles 5 & 15 of the Nevada Constitution in their current form.

”

Description of effect

The description of effect for the initiative was as follows:

“

If enacted, this initiative changes Articles 5 and 15 of Nevada's Constitution for Congressional, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, Treasurer, Controller and State Legislator elections, eliminating partisan primaries and establishing an open top-five primary election and a rank-choice voting general election. For these offices, all candidates and voters participate in a single primary election regardless of party affiliation or non-affiliation. The top five finishers advance to the general election, and the general election winner is determined by rank-choice voting: General election voters rank the candidates in order of preference from first to last, if they wish to rank more than their first preference. As traditionally, a candidate receiving first-choice votes of more than 50% wins. If no candidate is the first choice of more than 50%, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. And each voter who had ranked the now-eliminated candidate as their first choice, has their single vote transferred to their next highest choice candidate. This tabulation process repeats until the one candidate with more than 50% support is determined as the winner.

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article 5 and Article 15 of the Nevada Constitution

The ballot measure would amend Section 4 of Article 5 and Article 15 of the Nevada Constitution. The following underlined text would be added, and struck-through text would be deleted: Note: Use your mouse to scroll over the below text to see the full text.

Article 5 Text of Section 4: The returns of every election for United States senator and member of Congress, district and state officers, and for and against any questions submitted to the electors of the State of Nevada, voted for at the general election, shall be sealed up and transmitted to the seat of government, directed to the secretary of state, and the chief justice of the supreme court, and the associate justices, or a majority thereof, shall meet at the office of the secretary of state, on a day to be fixed by law, and open and canvass the election returns for United States senator and member of Congress, district and state officers, and for and against any questions submitted to the electors of the State of Nevada, and forthwith declare the result and publish the names of the persons elected and the results of the vote cast upon any question submitted to the electors of the State of Nevada. The persons having the highest number of votes for the respective offices as provided for and governed by Nevada law and/or Section 18 of Article 15 of this Constitution shall be declared elected, but in case any two or more have an equal and the highest number of votes for the same office, the legislature shall, by joint vote of both houses, elect one of said persons to fill said office. Article 15 Text of Section 14: A plurality of votes given at an election by the people, shall constitute a choice, except as provided in Section 18 of Article 15 or where not otherwise provided by this Constitution. Article 15 Text of Section 17: Top-five primary elections for partisan office. 1. Primary elections for partisan office shall be conducted as follows: a. The primary election for partisan offices must be held on the date and time as provided by Nevada law. b. A person may become a candidate at the primary election for partisan office regardless of the person's affiliation with a political party, or lack thereof. c. Any registered voter may cast a primary ballot for any candidate for partisan office regardless of the political party affiliation of the voter or any political party preference indicated by the candidate. The primary election for partisan office does not serve to determine the nominee of a political party or political group but serves only to narrow the number of candidates whose names will appear on the ballot at the general election for partisan office. 2. At a primary election for partisan office, only the names of the five candidates receiving the greatest number of votes at the primary election shall advance to the general election for partisan office. If, however, there are five or fewer candidates for a specific partisan office, the primary election for partisan office will still be held and the results made public, and all must be declared the candidates for the general election. 3. In the event of a tie for fifth place, the candidate who proceeds to the general election for partisan office will be decided by lot. 4. The ballot for the primary election must clearly delineate the partisan offices to which the top-five process provided by this section applies. 5. Immediately following the name of each candidate for a partisan office must appear the name or abbreviation of the political party with which the candidate is registered, the words "no political party" or the abbreviation "NPP," as the case may be. 6. The ballots for the primary elections for partisan office must include a conspicuously placed statement: "A candidate for partisan office may state a political party that he or she prefers. A candidate's preference does not imply that the candidate is nominated or endorsed by the party, or that the party approves of or associates with that candidate." 7. In the event that one of the five candidates who received the greatest number of votes at the primary election withdraws, is disqualified, dies, or is otherwise deemed ineligible to be elected after the primary election for partisan office but before the 5 p.m. on the fourth Friday in July, the candidate receiving the next greatest number of votes at the primary election for partisan office shall be declared a nominee, and his or her name shall be placed on the ballot at the general election for partisan office. 8. As used in this section: "Partisan office" means the Offices of United States Senator, United States Representative, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, and State Legislators, and excludes the Offices of President of the United States and Vice President of the United States. 9. Implementation a. Not later than July 1, 2025, the Legislature shall provide by law for provisions consistent with Section 17 of Article 15 of this Constitution to require top-five primary elections for partisan office. b. Upon enactment of any law by the Legislature pursuant to Section 17 of Article 15 of this Constitution before July 1, 2025, and not later than that date, any laws, regulations, regulatory orders or other provisions which conflict with Section 17 of Article 15 of this Constitution will he void. However, the Legislature may enact legislation, in whole or in part, consistent with Section 17 of Article 15 of this Constitution that to provide top-five primary elections/or partisan office before July 1, 2025. Article 15 Text of Section 18: Ranked-choice voting for general elections for partisan office. 1. All general elections for partisan office shall he conducted by ranked-choice voting. 2. The general election ballots for partisan office shall he designed so that the candidates are selected by ranked-choice voting. 3. The general election ballots for partisan office shall he designed so that at the voter is directed to mark candidates in order of preference and to mark as many choices as the voter wishes, but not to assign the same ranking to more than one candidate for the same office. 4. Immediately following the name of each candidate for a partisan office must appear the name or abbreviation the political party with the candidate is registered, the words "no political party" or the abbreviation "NPP," as the case may be. 5. The ballots for the general elections for partisan office must include a conspicuously placed statement that: "Each candidate for partisan office may state a political party that he or she prefers. A candidate's preference does not imply that the candidate is nominated or endorsed by the party, or that the party approves of or associates with that candidate." 6. When counting ballots in a general election for partisan office, the Registrar, County Clerk, or chief election official (as applicable) in each County shall initially tabulate each validly cast ballot as one vote for the highest-ranked candidate on that ballot or as an inactive ballot. If a candidate is highest-ranked on a majority of the active ballots, that candidate is elected and the tabulation is complete. If no candidate is highest-ranked on a majority of the active ballots, tabulation proceeds in sequential rounds as outlined in Section 7. 7. Tabulation proceeds in sequential rounds as follows: a. If two or fewer continuing candidates remain, the candidate with the greatest number of votes is elected and the tabulation is complete; otherwise, the tabulation continues under (h) of this subsection. b. The candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, votes cast for the eliminated candidate shall cease counting for the eliminated candidate and shall be added to the totals of each ballot's next-highest-ranked continuing candidate or considered an inactive ballot under (8)(b) and (8)(c) of this section, and a new round begins under (7)(a) of this subsection. 8. When counting general election ballots for partisan office, a. A voter may choose to rank just one candidate/or partisan office, and that vote will be tabulated. b. A ballot containing an overvote shall be considered an inactive ballot once the overvote is encountered at the highest ranking for a continuing candidate. c. If a ballot skips a ranking, then the election board shall count the next ranking. If the next ranking is another skipped ranking, the ballot shall be considered an inactive ballot/or that race. d. Any votes for "None of These Candidates" shall be tabulated, recorded and made public, but not be counted/or the purpose of electing or ranking any candidates for partisan office. e. In the event of a tie between the final two continuing candidates, the winner shall be decided in a manner as provided by statute. f. In the event of a tie between two candidates with the fewest votes, the candidate eliminated shall be decided by lot. g. An inactive ballot may not be counted for any candidate in that particular race. 9. As used in this section: a. "Continuing candidate" means a candidate who has not been eliminated. b. "Inactive ballot" means a ballot that is no longer tabulated, either in whole or in part, because it does not rank any continuing candidate, contains an overvote at the highest continuing ranking, or contains two or more sequential skipped rankings before its highest continuing ranking. c. "Overvote" means an instance where a voter has assigned the same ranking to more than one candidate. d. "Ranking" or "ranked" means the number assigned by a voter to a candidate to express the voter's choice for that candidate; a ranking of "1" is the highest ranking, followed by "2," and then "3," and so on. e. "Round" means an instance of the sequence of voting tabulation in a general election for partisan office. f. "Skipped ranking" means a blank ranking on a ballot on which a voter has ranked another candidate at a subsequent ranking. g. "Partisan office" means the Offices of United States Senator, United States Representative, Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, State Treasurer, State Controller, and State Legislators, and excludes the Offices of President of the United States and Vice President of the United States. 10. Completion of ballot count; certificate. a. The certification of results shall be conducted as provided by Nevada law. 11. Implementation a. Not later than July 1, 2025, the Legislature shall provide by law for provisions consistent with this constitutional amendment, including providing for disclosure as to the full ranking of each candidate. b. Upon enactment of any law by the Legislature pursuant to this constitutional amendment before July 1, 2025, and not later than that date, any laws, regulations, regulatory orders or other provisions which conflict with this constitutional amendment will be void. However, the Legislature may enact legislation, in whole or in part, consistent with this constitutional amendment before July 1, 2025.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The secretary of state wrote the ballot language for this measure.

The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 32, and the FRE is -24. The word count for the ballot title is 61.

The FKGL for the ballot summary is grade level 16, and the FRE is 25. The word count for the ballot summary is 314.

Support

Nevada Voters First PAC sponsored the initiative.

Supporters

Organizations

• Institute for Political Innovation
• Represent.Us
• Vote Nevada

Arguments

• Institute for Political Innovation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Katherine M. Gehl: "With more than 35 percent of Nevada voters unable to vote in a primary because they are registered as independent or non-partisan, and many more feeling under-represented by their respective party, it is clear that this antiquated system needs to change."
• Sondra Cosgrove, professor of history at the College of Southern Nevada: “We want to have more options. We don’t want just two people moving forward from the primary to the general election. We want five people, because oftentimes when you look at the people who move forward, it’s just the people with the most money.”
• Samuel T. Lair, former research associate for the Kenny Guinn Center for Policy Priorities at UNR: "Fortunately, by implementing a ranked-choice voting system, the proposed reform will free voters to support independent candidates without the fear of aiding another party. To this end, Nevadan’s can expect the new system to result in a diverse field of candidates more capable of producing a system of representation consistent with the sentiments and interests of a true majority."

Official arguments

The following is the argument in support of Question 3 found in the Statewide Ballot Questions 2022 Pamphlet Guide:

Statewide Ballot Questions 2022: The current partisan election process is not working for Nevada. Current law excludes over one third of all Nevada voters from the taxpayer-funded partisan primary elections. These closed partisan primaries are controlled by political party insiders and no citizen should be compelled to join a political party so as to vote. Despite being funded on the backs of all taxpayers, Nevada’s partisan primaries are only open to Nevadans who register as Republican or Democrat. This current system leaves out many voters and entitles a very small, partisan minority to determine the general election candidates. The closed partisan primary system leaves many feeling like their voices don’t matter, and that their elected leaders only represent the most extreme party constituents. Our leaders are often more concerned with angry partisan rhetoric rather than sensible policy making. Question 3 will greatly improve Nevada’s election process, putting the power of elections where it belongs – in the hands of all voters, rather than the party establishment. Question 3 will give ALL Nevada voters the right to participate regardless of their party registration. By creating an open primary, Question 3 allows all voters a voice in all those who appear on the general election ballot regardless of party affiliation. In addition to giving Nevadans more voice, Question 3 will also give voters more choice by establishing a Ranked-Choice general election system.10 Ranked-Choice is a simple change to our general elections that allows voters the opportunity to rank up to five candidates who best represent their positions, rather than having to choose between the “lesser of two evils”. Nevadans will list the candidates in order of preference; however, ranking is not required, and voters can continue to simply vote for their top choice if they so choose. The candidate who receives the broadest support from all voters will be the winner. This simple change encourages candidates to focus on issues that matter to the majority rather than the partisan bases of the parties. Question 3 ensures that every Nevadan’s voice is heard and that every vote matters, regardless of party registration, and makes elected officials more accountable to all Nevadans. Vote YES and give Nevadans more choice and more voice in our elections

Opposition

Protect Your Vote Nevada led the campaign in opposition to this initiative.

Opponents

Officials

• U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D)
• U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D)
• U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei (R)
• Gov. Steve Sisolak (D)
• State Sen. Nicole Cannizzaro (D)
• State Asm. Steve Yeager (D)

Unions

• Nevada State AFL-CIO

Organizations

• Americans for Tax Reform
• Battle Born Progress
• Let Nevadans Vote

Arguments

• Assemblyman Steve Yeager: "Enshrining this system in Nevada's state constitution would be a mistake because meaningful access to the ballot box is too critical to our system of representative government to sacrifice at the alter [sic] of an unproven and unwieldy experiment."
• Protect Your Vote Nevada: "This petition you're being asked to sign doesn't do what supporters say it does. Instead, it's about out-of-state corporate billionaires trying to influence our elections. Their petition would make our elections unnecessarily confusing, complicated, and riddled with errors-- and enshrine that system in the Nevada Constitution."
• Emily Persaud-Zamora, executive director of Silver State Voices: "Ranked choice voting makes casting a ballot more time consuming, more complicated and more confusing for voters ... It will inevitably lead to increased errors. Ranked choice vote ballots are significantly more likely to be thrown out and uncounted because of those voters’ mistakes, ultimately disenfranchising more voters because of an overly complex and burdensome process.”

Official arguments

The following is the argument opposing Question 3 found in the Statewide Ballot Questions 2022 Pamphlet Guide:

Statewide Ballot Questions 2022: Question 3’s jungle primary and confusing multi-stage general election proposal does nothing to address partisanship in Nevada’s political process, and will likely make things worse. Instead, this initiative will fundamentally damage the traditional conduct of our elections, and it could function to shut out parties entirely from running general election candidates in some races. In many districts, the only choices in November might be between candidates of the same party, or among fewer parties’ candidates than currently. In addition, if Question 3 passes, independent candidates not affiliated with the political parties would be prevented from launching a campaign in the general election, and would instead have to compete directly in expensive primaries against established party candidates. Nevadans need more quality voices and ideas in politics, but this initiative actually narrows voters’ options. Question 3’s out-of-state special interest funders want to permanently lock this extreme change in our elections into our state Constitution, meaning this risky scheme would be nearly impossible to change or repeal, and the cost of future elections would increase. This initiative’s result will be more money in toxic political campaigns and thousands of votes thrown away because of confused voters, with no improvement in our political system.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Nevada ballot measures

The campaign finance information on this page reflects the most recently scheduled reports processed by Ballotpedia, which covered through December 31, 2022.

The Nevada Voters First PAC was registered to support the ballot initiative. The PAC raised $22.9 million.

The Protect Your Vote Nevada PAC was registered to oppose the ballot initiative. The PAC raised $2.42 million.

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$22,929,905.00	$88,366.58	$23,018,271.58	$22,241,188.43	$22,329,555.01
Oppose	$2,425,000.00	$0.00	$2,425,000.00	$2,008,602.08	$2,008,602.08

Support

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committee in support of the measure.

Committees in support of Question 3
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Nevada Voters First	$22,929,905.00	$88,366.58	$23,018,271.58	$22,241,188.43	$22,329,555.01
Total	$22,929,905.00	$88,366.58	$23,018,271.58	$22,241,188.43	$22,329,555.01

Donors

The following were the top donors to the committee.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Katherine Gehl	$6,001,000.00	$0.00	$6,001,000.00
Action Now, Inc.	$3,000,000.00	$0.00	$3,000,000.00
Kenneth Griffin	$3,000,000.00	$0.00	$3,000,000.00
Final Five Fund, Inc.	$2,487,405.00	$80,000.00	$2,567,405.00
Kathryn Murdoch	$2,500,000.00	$0.00	$2,500,000.00
John Sobrato	$1,000,000.00	$0.00	$1,000,000.00

Opposition

The following table includes contribution and expenditure totals for the committees in opposition to the measure.

Committees in opposition to Question 3
Committee	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Protect Your Vote Nevada	$2,425,000.00	$0.00	$2,425,000.00	$2,008,602.08	$2,008,602.08
Total	$2,425,000.00	$0.00	$2,425,000.00	$2,008,602.08	$2,008,602.08

Donors

The following were the top donors who contributed to the opposition committees.

Donor	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions
Nevada Alliance	$1,665,000.00	$0.00	$1,665,000.00
Nevada Conservation League	$310,000.00	$0.00	$310,000.00
Majority Forward	$250,000.00	$0.00	$250,000.00
Leadership in Nevada	$60,000.00	$0.00	$60,000.00
Family Friendly Action Fund	$50,000.00	$0.00	$50,000.00
Home Means Nevada	$50,000.00	$0.00	$50,000.00

Media editorials

See also: 2022 ballot measure media endorsements

Support

Ballotpedia did not locate media editorial boards in support of the ballot measure.

Opposition

The following media editorial boards published an editorial opposing the ballot measure:

• Las Vegas Review-Journal Editorial Board: "This scheme would eliminate party primaries. Instead, the top five vote getters in an open primary would advance to the November election. At that point, a complicated — and even radical — new election mechanism would kick in. Voters would then select their first choice and rank the remaining candidates. If no one receives 50 percent, the candidate with the lowest vote total is eliminated. Those who selected that candidate in the No. 1 spot would have their votes recalculated with the second choice moving up to the top. That continues until someone wins a majority. This format could delay the results for weeks, undermining confidence in elections. Voters who fail to list a full slate of candidates could be disenfranchised. There are many things Nevada needs, but a more confusing election system isn’t one of them."
• Las Vegas Sun Editorial Board: "While we recognize the goals of reducing extremism and partisanship, we believe that open primaries and ranked-choice voting offer too many opportunities to further manipulate the primary system and create confusion — ultimately undermining the electoral process. We believe the goals of Question 3 might be appropriate at some point, especially if extremism continues to dominate major party politics. And we are interested to see how open primaries and ranked-choice voting work in other states that are experimenting with the idea. However, we are not yet ready to endorse Question 3, especially as a package asking two separate questions and with the current risks of election manipulation so high."

Polls

See also: 2022 ballot measure polls

Are you aware of a poll on this ballot measure that should be included below? You can share ballot measure polls, along with source links, with us at editor@ballotpedia.org.

Nevada Top-Five Ranked Choice Voting Initiative (2022)
Poll	Dates	Sample size	Margin of error	Support	Oppose	Undecided

Suffolk University	8/14/22-8/17/22	500 LV	± 4.4%	51.6%	44%	13.8%
	Question: "There is a ballot initiative to open up Nevada’s top party primary races to all voters regardless of party, and to allow the ranking of your five top choices instead of voting for one. At this point, do you strongly support, somewhat support, somewhat oppose, or strongly oppose this ballot initiative?"

OH Predictive Insights	7/20/22-7/29/22	741 LV	± 3.6%	38%	42%	20%
	Question: "Changing the current method of elections so that anyone can vote in a party's primary and where choices for general elections will use ranked-choice voting, whereby voters rank their preferences."

OH Predictive Insights	7/8/22-7/19/22	924 RV	± 3.22%	42%	27%	32%
	Question: "There will be a question on the ballot in November to change elections so that anyone can vote in a party's primary and where choices for general elections will use ranked-choice voting, whereby voters rank their preferences. Do you support this change to Nevada's elections?"
Note: LV is likely voters, RV is registered voters, and EV is eligible voters.

Background

Ranked-choice voting

See also: Ranked-choice voting

Ranked-choice voting is a voting system where voters are able to rank candidates based on preference on their ballots. Ballots are processed in rounds. If a candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, that candidate is declared the winner. If no candidate wins a majority of first-preference votes, the candidate in last place is eliminated, lifting the second-choice preference on the ballots. The process is continued until a candidate wins the simple majority (50% plus 1) of the votes.

How ranked-choice voting works

Broadly speaking, the ranked-choice voting process unfolds as follows for single-winner elections:

1. Voters rank the candidates for a given office by preference on their ballots.
2. If a candidate wins an outright majority of first-preference votes (i.e., 50 percent plus one), he or she will be declared the winner.
3. If, on the other hand, no candidates win an outright majority of first-preference votes, the candidate with the fewest first-preference votes is eliminated.
4. All first-preference votes for the failed candidate are eliminated, lifting the second-preference choices indicated on those ballots.
5. A new tally is conducted to determine whether any candidate has won an outright majority of the adjusted voters.
6. The process is repeated until a candidate wins a majority of votes cast.

States and cities that incorporate ranked-choice voting

Maine

In 2016, voters approved Question 5, a ballot measure that established a statewide system of ranked-choice voting. Question 5 provided that ranked-choice voting be used to elect U.S. senators, U.S. representatives, the governor, state senators, and state representatives. Voters approved the initiative 52.12 to 47.88 percent.

Question 5 defined ranked-choice voting as "the method of casting and tabulating votes in which voters rank candidates in order of preference, tabulation proceeds in sequential rounds in which last-place candidates are defeated and the candidate with the most votes in the final round is elected." The passage of Question 5 made Maine the first state to use the ranked-choice method for elections.

Alaska

In 2020, Alaska voters approved Ballot Measure 2, which replaced partisan primaries with open top-four primaries for state executive, state legislative, and congressional offices, as well as establishing ranked-choice voting for general elections, including the presidential election. The measure won with 50.55% of the vote.

In December 2020, a lawsuit was filed by the Alaskan Independence Party, Scott Kohlhaas, Robert M. Bird, and Kenneth P. Jacobus, against the state, declaring that Ballot Measure 2 was unconstitutional. The plaintiffs argued that Ballot Measure 2 violated their rights to free political association, free speech, and due process under the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution and Article 1 of the Alaska Constitution. On July 29, 2021, Ballot Measure 2 was upheld by Judge Gregory Miller, who wrote in his opinion that plaintiffs had "not met their burden of showing that any part of the new law is unconstitutional on its face." The decision was then appealed to the Alaska Supreme Court. On January 19, the Alaska Supreme Court ruled that the measure was constitutional.

New York City

In 2019, New York City voters approved Ballot Question 1, a charter amendment that established ranked-choice voting to be used for primary and special elections beginning in 2021. Under the amendment ranked-choice voting would be used in primary and special elections for mayor, public advocate, comptroller, borough president, and city council members. The amendment was approved by 73.61%-26.39%.

Hawaii

On June 17, 2022, Governor David Ige (D) signed SB2162 into law, establishing ranked-choice voting in federal special elections (provided that these elections do not coincide with a regularly scheduled primary or general election) and any special election to fill a vacancy on a county council. The legislation was set to take effect on January 1, 2023.

Election policy on the ballot 2022

See also: Elections and campaigns on the ballot

These ballot measures regard elections and campaigns, dealing with topics such as ethics measures, election process measures (such as ranked-choice voting or top-two primaries), election date changes, and campaign activity-related measures.

As of August 22, there are five other measures on the ballot in other states that deal with elections and campaigns.

• Alabama Prohibit Changes to Election Conduct Laws within Six Months of General Elections Amendment (2022)
• Kansas Constitutional Amendment 2, County Sheriff Election and Recall Amendment (2022)
• Louisiana Amendment 3, Classified Civil Service Employee Public Support of Family Members' Campaigns Measure (2022)
• Michigan Proposal 2, Voting Policies in Constitution Amendment (2022)

Path to the ballot

See also: Laws governing the initiative process in Nevada

The state process

In Nevada, the number of signatures required to qualify an initiated constitutional amendment for the ballot is equal to 10 percent of the total votes cast in the most recent general election. Moreover, signature gathering must be distributed equally among each of the state's four congressional districts. The initial filing of an initiated constitutional amendment cannot be made before September 1 of the year preceding the election year. The signature petitions must be filed with county officials by the third Tuesday in June of an even-numbered year. The final submission of signatures to the secretary of state must be made at least 90 days before the next regular general election. Initiated constitutional amendments that qualify for the ballot must be approved at two consecutive general elections.

The requirements to get an initiated constitutional amendment certified for the 2022 ballot and the next even-yeared election ballot:

• Signatures: 135,561 valid signatures were required.
• Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures was June 29, 2022.

Signatures are verified by county clerks using a random sampling method if more than 500 signatures were submitted in that county. If enough signatures are submitted and verified, the initiative goes on the next general election ballot. If approved at the first election, it goes on the next general election ballot.

Details about this initiative

• The initiative was filed by Nevada Voters First PAC on November 12, 2021.
• On April 19, the Nevada Voters First representatives announced submitting 65% of the signatures required to make it on the ballot.
• On June 28, the Nevada Voters First campaign reported submitting 266,000 signatures.
• On July 21, 2022, the Nevada secretary of state verified 170,941 of the submitted signatures, qualifying the initiative for the ballot.

Sponsors of the measure hired Advanced Micro Targeting to collect signatures for the petition to qualify this measure for the ballot. A total of $2,000,000.00 was spent to collect the 135,561 valid signatures required to put this measure before voters, resulting in a total cost per required signature (CPRS) of $14.75.

Lawsuit

  

Lawsuit overview
Issue: Whether the initiative violates the state's single subject rule and other constitutional requirements
Court: Carson City District Court
Ruling: Ruled in favor of the defendant. The initiative complies with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Plaintiff(s): Nathan Helton, a registered voter in Churchill County	Defendant(s): Nevada Voters First
Plaintiff argument: The initiative violates the single subject rule, adds a cost to the state without creating a funding source, and has a deficient "description of effect."	Defendant argument: The initiative does not violate the single subject rule.

  Source: The Nevada Independent

On December 6, 2021, Nathan Helton, a registered voter in Churchill County, filed a lawsuit against the sponsors of the initiative arguing that it violated the state's single subject rule, would add a cost to the state without creating a funding source, and has a deficient "description of effect" that "deceptively minimizes the sweeping changes that imposing the brand new ranked-choice voting system in Nevada would make to the current electoral system." The lawsuit also said, "Though sweeping in scope, each of these changes is a discrete, independent modification of present election law that neither depends upon the other for its operation nor even references it in its voluminous text."

On January 6, 2021, Judge James Wilson dismissed the lawsuit finding that the initiative did not violate constitutional and statutory requirements. Helton's attorneys appealed the decision to the Nevada Supreme Court.

On June 28, 2022, the Nevada Supreme Court ruled in favor of Nevada Voters First, allowing the initiative to proceed to the ballot. Carson City District Court Judge James Wilson ruled that the initiative did not violate the single subject rule.

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Nevada

Click "Show" to learn more about current voter registration rules, identification requirements, and poll times in Nevada.

How to cast a vote in Nevada

Poll times All polling places in Nevada are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Pacific Time. An individual who is in line at the time polls close must be allowed to vote. Registration Check your voter registration status here. To register to vote in Nevada, each applicant must be must a citizen of the United States, a resident of Nevada for at least 30 days before the election, and at least 18 years old by the day of the election. Seventeen-year-olds can preregister to vote. Anyone who has been declared mentally incompetent by a court may not register to vote. A voter registration application can be completed in person at the county clerk’s office, the Department of Motor Vehicles, other social service agencies, or college campuses. In-person registration must be completed 28 days before regular elections; registration forms submitted by mail must be postmarked by the same day. Online applications must be submitted by the Thursday before regular elections. Automatic registration Nevada automatically registers eligible individuals to vote through the Department of Motor Vehicles. Online registration See also: Online voter registration Nevada has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website. Same-day registration Nevada allows same-day voter registration at polling places during early voting and on election day. Residency requirements In order to register to vote in Nevada, applicants must be a resident of the state for at least 30 days prior to the election. Verification of citizenship See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States Nevada does not require proof of citizenship for voter registration. Verifying your registration The Nevada Secretary of State’s office allows residents to check their voter registration status online by visiting this website. Voter ID requirements Nevada does not require voters to present identification while voting, in most cases. A voter in Nevada must sign his or her name in the election board register at his or her polling place. The signature is compared with the signature on the voter's original application to vote or another form of identification, such as a driver's license, a state identification card, military identification, or another government-issued ID.

See also

2022 measures

• 2022 ballot measures
• Elections and campaigns on the ballot
• Voting policy measures on the ballot
• 2022 petition deadlines

Nevada

• Nevada ballot measures
• Nevada initiative laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls
• Ballot measure signature costs

External links

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