Politics Guide Part 2: Where can I vote and how do I vote?

Every citizen must register to vote before getting access to a ballot. As a student, you can register online or in-person, but make sure to have access to your ID if you do either. 

Once you’re registered, or if you’ve been registered, you can start early voting in Nevada from Oct. 22 to Nov. 4 or vote on Election Day on Nov. 8. You will also be mailed a sample ballot, which can help you through the process of where you should vote and how the process works. However, it is only a guide and cannot be used to cast your vote.

Mail-in Ballots

Most college students don’t have the time to go to a physical polling location, so mail-in ballots come to the rescue.

Mail-in ballots in Nevada will be received no later than 14 days before Election Day, unless you’ve chosen to opt out of receiving a mail-in ballot.

Ballots should either be postmarked on or anytime before Election Day. The mail-ins should also be received by the Washoe County Registrar of Voters office by the fourth counting day following Election Day by 5 p.m. Signatures for these ballots can be fixed only up to the sixth following day by 5 p.m.

If you do not want to send your mail-in ballot, you can also just drop it off at a drop box location by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Where to vote in Washoe County

There are polling locations all over the county. However, you can also fill in a mail-in ballot. Voters are no longer designated a voting center they have to go to, so it is your choice in where you decide to vote.

If you are a college student who does not vote in this county, here are further instructions from the Nevada Secretary of State’s site if you would like to change your home address to vote in this county.

Below, The Nevada Sagebrush has compiled a list of polling locations in Washoe County, Nev. from the Nevada Secretary of State’s website.

Early voting locations

Each of these locations in Reno will be available for early voting on the following dates and times: 

• University of Nevada, Reno – Joe Crowley Student Union at 1664 N Virginia St.
• South Valleys Library at 15650A Wedge Pkwy.
• Save Mart #556 at 195 W Plumb Ln.
• Save Mart #554 at 4995 Kietzke Ln.
• Save Mart #525 at 525 Keystone Ave.
• Reno Town Mall at 4001 S. Virginia St.
• Reno-Sparks Indian Colony at 34 Reservation Rd.
• Parkway Athletic Club at 9400 Double Diamond Pkwy.
• North Valleys Library at 1075 N Hills Blvd.
• Northwest Reno Library at 2325 Robb Dr.
• Downtown Reno Library at 301 S. Center St.

Washoe County Complex in Building A at 1001 9th St. is also an early voting center with various times available. The times it will be open are available below:

Voting centers in Sparks will be available on the following dates and times.

• Career College of Northern Nevada at1421 Pullman Dr.
• Spanish Springs Library at 7100A Pyramid Hwy.
• Sparks Library at 1125 12th St.

The voting center at the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe at 2255 Green Vista Dr. #404 and the Pyramid Lake Tribal Office at 208 Capitol Hill Nixon will also be available on all early voting days from 10 a.m. till 5 p.m.

There are two additional voting centers in Incline Village and Sun Valley. The times they are open are listed below.

• Incline Village Library at 845 Alder Ave.
• Sun Valley Neighborhood Center at 115 W 6th Ave.

For ballot drop boxes only, voters can go to Reno-Sparks Indian Colony Smoke Shop at 7655 Pyramid Hwy. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on all early voting days. 

Election Day voting centers

All Election Day voting centers are available on Nov. 8 from 7 a.m. till 7 p.m.

Here are the Reno locations:

• UNR- Joe Crowley Student Union at 1664 North Virginia St.
• Aspen Lodge at Sierra Canyon at 1798 Del Webb Pkwy.
• Bartley Ranch Regional Park at 6000 Bartley Ranch Rd.
• Billinghurst Middle School at 6685 Chesterfield Ln.
• Brown Elementary School at 13815 Spelling Ct.
• Caughlin Ranch Elementary School at 4885 Village Green Pkwy.
• Cold Springs Middle School at 18235 Cody Ct.
• Damonte Ranch High School at 10500 Rio Wrangler Pkwy.
• Depoali Middle School at 9300 Wilbur May Pkwy.
• Donner Springs Elementary School at 5125 Escuela Way
• Downtown Reno Library at 301 S Center St.
• Evelyn Mount Northeast Community Center at 1301 Valley Rd.
• Faith Lutheran Church at 2075 W 7th St.
• Galena High School at 3600 Butch Cassidy Dr.
• Hidden Valley Elementary School at 2115 Alphabet Dr.
• Jessie Beck Elementary School at 1900 Sharon Way
• Marce Herz Middle School at 13455 Thomas Creek Rd.
• May Museum at Rancho San Rafael Park at 1595 N Sierra St.
• McQueen High School at 6055 Lancer St.
• North Valleys Community Center at 8085 Silver Lake Rd.
• North Valleys High School at 1470 E Golden Valley Rd.
• O’Brien Middle School at 5000 Silver Lake Rd.
• Pine Middle School at 4800 Neil Rd.
• Plumas Park Gym at 475 Monroe St.
• Red Rock Volunteer Fire Department at 16180 N Red Rock Rd.
• Reno High School at 395 Booth St.
• Reno Town Mall at 4001 S Virginia St.
• Reno-Sparks Convention Center at 4590 South Virginia St.
• Reno-Sparks Indian Colony at 34 Reservation Rd.
• Sky Peaks at 1520 Sky Valley Dr.
• Somersett Town Center at 7650 Town Square Way
• South Valleys Library at 15650A Wedge Pkwy.
• Stead Elementary School at 10580 Stead Blvd.
• Towles Elementary School at 2800 Kings Row
• Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of No. Nev. at 780 Del Monte Ln.
• Washoe County Complex Bldg A at 1001 9th St.
• Washoe County Regional Shooting Facility at 21555 Pyramid Lake Hwy.
• Westbrook Community Center at 218 Kennedy Dr.
• Wooster High School at 1331 E Plumb Ln.

Here are the Sparks locations: 

• Dilworth Middle School at 255 Prater Way
• Hug High School at 3530 Sullivan Ln.
• Hungry Valley Gymnasium at 9075 Eagle Canyon Dr.
• Kate Smith Elementary School at 1925 F St.
• Mendive Middle School at 1900 Whitewood Dr.
• Moss Elementary School at 2200 Primio Way
• Red Hawk Resort at 6600 N Wingfield Pkwy.
• Reed High School at 1350 Baring Blvd.
• Sky Ranch Middle School at 1200 Windmill Farms Pkwy.
• Spanish Springs High School at 1065 Eagle Canyon Dr.
• Spanish Springs Library at 7100 Pyramid Way
• Sparks Christian Fellowship at 510 Greenbrae Dr.
• Sparks Library at 1125 12th St.
• Sparks Middle School at 2275 18th St.
• Summit Lake Paiute Tribe at 2255 Green Vista Dr STE 402
• Van Gorder Elementary School at 7650 Campello Dr.
• Whitehead Elementary School at 3570 Waterfall Dr.
• Yvonne Shaw Middle School at 600 Eagle Canyon Dr.

Here are additional voting center in other areas in Washoe County:

• Aspen Grove Community Center at 960 Lakeshore Blvd in Incline Village
• Incline Village Middle School at 931 Southwood Blvd. in Incline Village
• Incline Village Library at 845 Alder Ave. in Incline Village
• Sun Valley Neighborhood Center at 115 W 6th Ave in Sun Valley
• Palmer Elementary School at 5890 Klondike Dr. in Sun Valley
• Natchez Elementary School at 1 State Route 447 in Wadsworth
• Pyramid Lake Tribal Office at 208 Capitol Hill in Nixon
• South Valley VFD #227 & Community Center at 3010 Lakeshore Dr. in New Washoe City
• Verdi Elementary School at 250 Bridge St in Verdi 

For more information or updates on voting centers, visit this website. 

How to use a ballot and actually vote

As a registered voter, you will receive a sample ballot that will guide you through the process of where to vote but also the candidates and races you will be looking at for the upcoming midterm. 

If you’ve never seen a sample ballot or understand what any of it means, it’s very similar to the real ballot, but not the real thing. 

The ballot for this midterm in Washoe will consist of the three ballot questions mentioned in the last part, to which voters can vote “Yes” or “No” on. More details about these questions will be discussed in a later part of the political guide. 

The ballot will also consist of candidate races for the whole state, plus to your county and city specifically, depending on your address and the congressional zone you live in. 

The Sagebrush will also go into greater detail about the races in future parts of the guide. 

Once your ballot is filled out and you officially cast your vote, you are able to track the status and receive any updates about your ballot using this website.

Keep an eye out for the remaining parts of the political guide, coming soon. 

Jaedyn Young can be reached at jaedynyoung@sagebrush.unr.edu or on Twitter @jaedyn_young3.