Early voting ends with long lines in Las Vegas

Shihana Khalaf’s mom always told her that “going to vote in person is the best feeling. Makes you feel American.” Khalaf experienced that Friday night when she was one of hundreds who voted in person on the final day of early voting.

At around 7:15 p.m., the line to vote snaked around the Silverado Ranch Plaza parking lot leading into the voting center housed inside an event tent.

Khalaf and her husband, Rami Khalaf, proudly showed off their Las Vegas “I Voted” stickers as they walked out of the tent.

She said that by voting early she hopes people who see turnout numbers on Tuesday will be more motivated to go out and vote. Rami Khalaf said voting early worked better for their schedules and that the whole process from arriving to voting took about 15 minutes.

“Not bad at all,” he said. “The line looks long, but it moves relatively fast.”

He said he and his wife both come from families who encouraged voting.

“It’s a blessing to be able to vote,” Rami Khalaf said. “You’re representing a lot more than just yourself.”

Trudy Cunningham said she had planned to vote next Tuesday but decided during the day Friday to go and get it done. She didn’t realize the line would be so long and said she waited in line for 40 minutes to vote.

“I like to vote on Election Day, but this was kind of like Election Day because there were so many people,” Cunningham said.

She said she’s always been interested in politics and used to work as a poll watcher and has knocked on doors for candidates.

“Voting is very, very important because we just have to get out and express our interests,” Cunningham said.

Howard Gardner beat the line by dropping off his mail ballot inside the tent.

He said he has voted in every election since he turned 18. Gardner was a toddler when the Voting Rights Act was passed, making the point that it wasn’t that long ago that not everyone was allowed to vote in the United States.

“I feel good that I did my part, did my civic duty and used my voice,” Gardner said.

By 8 p.m., the line had dwindled down, but early voting centers such as Silverado Ranch Plaza remained open late Friday.

In early voting, polls stay open as long as voters keep showing up, at least until midnight on the last day. Clark County Registrar of Voters Joe Gloria says the law doesn’t allow him to extend the number of days early voting is allowed.

Gloria said that on election night officials will post only the results of in-person Election Day voting, in-person early voting and the mail ballots that have been counted up to that point. Mail ballots must be postmarked by Election Day — and received by Nov. 12 — in order to be counted.

The county must send final unofficial election results to the secretary of state’s office by Nov. 17. County commissioners will hold a special meeting to canvass the election on Nov. 18.

Information on how to register to vote and Election Day vote centers can be found online.

Contact David Wilson at dwilson@reviewjournal.com. Follow @davidwilson_RJ on Twitter.