These nonpartisan races can be won during primary elections

A bevy of nonpartisan races in Southern Nevada could be decided early in the primary process, likely leaving some voters wondering what happened to their preferred candidates in the run-up to November’s general election.

Some contests already have an outright winner, like Las Vegas City Councilwoman Francis Allen-Palenske, who won re-election after no one filed to run for her seat.

Mail ballots will be distributed in the coming weeks. In-person early voting kicks off May 23 for the June 9 primary election.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal has compiled a list of most Clark County races that could be resolved in the primary, when voter turnout is traditionally low.

How it works

For some nonpartisan races, where an incumbent is the only candidate to file, that person is declared the outright winner early. That was the case for Allen-Palenske.

If not an incumbent, the candidate’s name appears in primary ballots and requires only one vote to win the seat.

Elections with a single candidate for the Clark County District Court and the Nevada Supreme Court, however, are held in November, when the candidate is the lone name on ballots and can be elected with a single vote.

In most cases, nonpartisan races with only two candidates automatically advance to the Nov. 3 general election, meaning their names won’t appear in primary ballots.

That’s not the case in North Las Vegas, where the election in a two-way race for the open Ward 3 seat could be decided with a simple vote majority in the primaries.

Elections for seats with more than two candidates are held in the primaries. The top two candidates move on to the November election — unless one of the candidates secures more than 50 percent of the vote and wins the race outright.

Rules for other nonpartisan races depend on city charters, the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office noted.

Races with possible outright winners

Nevada Supreme Court: Justices Kristina Pickering and Douglas Herndon were not challenged and require a single vote in November to win re-election.

District Court

Races in Departments 13 and 26 each have three-way primary races.

Races for Departments 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 22, 24 and 25 each have one candidate who can be elected with a single vote in November.

District Court Judge Family Division

Departments A, B, C, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, O, Q, T, U, V, W, X and Y each have a single candidate who can win with one vote in November.

Departments D, E, N, each attracted two candidates, who will appear on the November ballot, while Departments P, R, and S each have three candidates in the primaries.

Nevada System of Higher Education’s Board of Regents

Districts 2, 5, and 8 have more than two candidates participating in the primaries. District 3 has two candidates who will compete in November.

Clark County School District Board of Trustees

Districts D and G each have two candidates participating in the general election, while District F has three candidates on primary ballots.

Las Vegas City Council

Races for Wards 2 and 6 each have three candidates competing in the primaries. Someone winning more than 50 percent of the vote could be declared the outright winner in June, otherwise, the top two finishers face off in November.

Henderson City Council

Five candidates vying to be elected the city’s mayor are on primary ballots, as are four candidates for the Ward 3 seat.

North Las Vegas City Council

Five mayoral candidates are on primary ballots, as are three candidates running for the open Ward 1 seat.

Ward 3 attracted two candidates participating in the primary.

Mesquite City Council

Seat 3 Councilwoman Pattie Gallo was declared winner because no one else filed to run.

Three candidates are running for Seat 1 that can have an outright winner in June. Seat 4 has two candidates participating in the general election.

City municipal court seats

Las Vegas Municipal Court Departments 1 and 2 each have three candidates participating in the primary elections.

Henderson Municipal Court Department 1 attracted three candidates competing in June.

North Las Vegas Municipal Court Department 1 has two candidates participating in the primary.