2020 presidential ballot in Nevada
With its six electoral votes, Nevada is one of the seven battleground states that likely will determine the next president of the United States. By all accounts the race is pretty close in the Silver State. The latest poll shows Democrat Kamala Harris with a 1% edge over Republican Donald J. Trump, 47% to 46%, well within the proverbial statistical margin of error.
So anything could happen. But as someone New to Las Vegas who has studied Nevada election trends, I’m here to tell you that Harris has a secret weapon in her favor unique among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, especially if the race stays close. A nearly half-century-old law requires that the ballot for every statewide race give voters the option to choose “None of These Candidates.”
Along with another law that prohibits write-in candidates, it is an article of faith among devotees of Nevada politics that the NOTC option draws far more disenchanted Republican voters than it does disenchanted Democratic voters. The GOP simply hates it, which is why in the past the party has gone to court–unsuccessfully–to get the line eliminated. But Republicans are not challenging it in court this time around. Continue reading
