Nevada has now fully implemented a new system called VREMS — Voter Registration and Election Management. It integrates all the information from each county into a single place, making the state's system faster and more efficient. The state legislature allocated funding in 2021 to update and implement VREMS.
Voters will see it when they vote in person.
Clark County Registrar of Voters Lorena Portillo recently demonstrated the VREMS process, which starts on a tablet called a “poll pad.” Once a voter verifies their information, the device prints out a card that allows the voter to continue.
“This voting card here has an arrow where the voter will see and actually activate our voting machine,” explained Portillo.
Clark County, Nevada's most populous county, has already used this system in two elections this year.
Ballots sent by mail will also go through the VREMS verification system remotely.
In many states, including Nevada, many continue to question the integrity of the voting process. At a recent panel discussion in Las Vegas with Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar, some questioned how the system prevents ineligible people from casting their ballots.
Aguilar reiterated the checks and balances that are already in place.
A Voter ID initiative is set to appear on the ballot this November in Nevada as Question 7. If a majority of voters support the question this year, it would be placed on the 2026 ballot, when another affirmative vote would amend Nevada’s Constitution.
Several groups oppose the voter ID initiative. The Nevada Voter Freedom Alliance PAC announced its intention to fight “the obstructive voter ID ballot initiative,” calling the effort “disruptive, costly and exclusionary.”
Others say the initiative will make voting more difficult for certain groups, such as minority communities.
“Access to the ballot for all eligible Nevada voters should be simple and free of obstacles, allowing Nevadans to exercise their right to vote,” said Manuel Santamaria, state director for Mi Familia Vota, a Latino political advocacy group. ”This ballot initiative continues a pattern of attacks on Latinos and other BIPOC communities by a governor who seeks to marginalize them further by limiting access to school lunches and promoting school choice voucher scams. This initiative aims to punish these communities further by restricting the most fundamental right they are guaranteed: the right to be heard at the ballot.“
Mathilda Guerrero Miller, Government Relations Director of Native Voters Alliance Nevada, also echoed similar sentiments.
"Proponents of Question 7 love to claim that if you need an ID to fly, buy alcohol, or rent a car, you should need one to vote. But here’s the truth: those are privileges — voting is a fundamental right for all eligible voters,” Guerrero Miller said. ”Nevada is home to 28 federally recognized Tribes, each with its own sovereign government, and Tribal IDs vary across these Nations. For many Native voters, these IDs are critical, but laws and regulations like Question 7 put additional unnecessary barriers in their way. This isn’t about security — it's about MAGA Republicans’ ability to control and silence BIPOC voices. Nevada has a proud history of standing up against voter suppression, and we won’t let these dangerous tactics take hold here."
Portillo said many doubts are raised because people are not well informed about checks and balances in the system. She advises voters educate themselves about voting procedures and requirements.
The VREMS system prevents people from voting twice. An attempt to do so is considered a crime.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio (KNPR) in Las Vegas, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
