Nevada mail-in voting: What to know

close

Video

What is the difference between mail-in voting and absentee voting?

David Spunt takes a look at the differences between mail-in voting and absentee voting

As the United States prepares to hold a presidential election in the midst of a deadly pandemic, many states have adjusted how they are holding their elections to minimize in-person contact at the polls, including Nevada.

Nevada passed a bill earlier this year to become a universal mail-in election state, meaning that all active voters will be sent mail-in ballots without needing to request them. This was done on a party-line vote in the legislature and over the objection of Republican Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske.

One other notable provision in the Nevada law is that it will allow third parties to collect and hand in ballots on voters' behalf, a practice detractors call "ballot harvesting." Cegavske wrote a letter to Gov. Steve Sisolak, a Democrat, asking that he approve rules to regulate the practice under the law. He refused to grant Cegavske's request, saying it would be wrong to adopt the new rules "without public feedback."

WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ABSENTEE VOTING AND UNIVERSAL VOTE-BY-MAIL? 

Mail-in ballots will be sent out in late September and early October, according to the secretary of state's office, though it said they may arrive in different counties on different dates.

Further, voters who do not want to send their mail-in ballots via mail may drop them off at early voting locations, which open on Oct. 17. Voters can also vote in-person as well. The new law requires 140 polling places in the state. To vote in person on a machine, a voter can either bring their mail-in ballot and surrender it or sign a document saying they will not vote with the mail-in ballot.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Additionally, the state has a system designed to prevent voters from casting multiple ballots, according to the secretary of state's office, and verifies the signature on every ballot. All mail-in ballots in Nevada that are postmarked by Election Day or dropped off by 7 p.m. on Election Day will be counted.

The Trump campaign and Republican National Committee sued Nevada over the law.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.