Which Nevada county has the highest average voter participation rate?

Voting is one of the only ways for citizens’ voices to be heard, and voters in one Nevada county make use of that civic duty more than others.

Political parties and organizations have already begun their get-out-the-vote drives to encourage Nevadans to vote this election cycle. The secretary of state has also made multiple efforts to increase voter turnout in the Silver State, a key battleground that could decide the presidential election. Candidates travel from county to county, seeking voters’ support.

But over the years, which of the 17 counties in Nevada has the had the highest voter turnout? That would be Eureka County, the state’s second-least populated county.

The central Nevada county has an average voter turnout rate of 66 percent, according to voter turnout data from the secretary of state’s office going back to the 2010 general and primary elections.

It saw its highest voter participation rate in the 2020 general election with an 88 percent voter turnout rate — about 22 percent higher than the national turnout. Its lowest was during the 2020 primary at about 38 percent, which could be explained by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Eureka County has a population of 1,900, although its population has grown by 30 percent in the last 10 years, according to its website. It is primarily a mining, ranching and agricultural community, and it was “discovered” by silver prospectors in 1864 who found rock containing a silver-lead ore, according to visiteureka.net.

Clark County has the lowest average voter participation rate at 42.26 percent. Seventy five percent of its active registered voters participated in the 2012 general election, more than any other election since 2010, and Clark saw its lowest participation rate at 15 percent in the 2014 primary.

The counties with the highest average voter turnout are Eureka, Storey, Douglas, Pershing, Humboldt, Carson City, Lander, Lincoln, Esmeralda, White Pine, Churchill, Mineral, Elko, Washoe, Nye, Lyon, with Clark in last place with an average voter participation rate of 42.26 percent.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.