As we head into the 2026 General Election, Washoe County is asking community partners to help encourage voters to make a plan and vote early.
During the 2026 Primary, nearly 13,000 mail ballots, or 20 percent of all mail ballots returned, came in on Election Day. That large influx meant thousands of ballots still needed to be processed after Election Day, and results came in later. We also saw 1,837 mail ballots postmarked after Election Day, making them too late to be counted under Nevada law.
With significantly higher turnout anticipated for the General Election, we could see tens of thousands of mail ballots arrive on Election Day. Every ballot returned early helps ensure it arrives in time to be counted, reduces the Election Day surge, and allows election staff to process ballots sooner and get results out faster.
That’s where we need your help.
We’ve put together the “Don’t Wait, Washoe” Toolkit to make sharing the message easy. It includes the campaign mission, key talking points, and ready-to-use social media posts, design elements for social media, and video PSAs available for easy download and distribution. (View and share here and here.)
We’re asking everyone to share the “Don’t Wait, Washoe” message between October 1 and October 30 and remind voters that Vote Centers and ballot drop boxes are available during Early Voting, October 17 through October 30. Most importantly, we want voters to know they have options and there’s no need to wait until Election Day.
