https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/home/showdocument?id=8842
NEVADA SECRETARY OF STATE
Barbara K. Cegavske
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© 2020 Nevada Secretary of State
There is a lot of misinformation circulating about the 2020 general election in Nevada. In order to educate voters and separate the facts from fiction, the Secretary of State has prepared a helpful document titled “Facts vs Myths.” If you have heard things about the election but you’re not sure if what you have heard is true, definitely check out this resource.
© 2020 Nevada Secretary of State
2020 General Election Facts vs Myths (PDF – 48kb)
M Y T H S V S F A C T S
1
You cannot vote in person for the
general election.
MYTH #1 FACT #1
Any registered voter can vote in
person if they choose to do so. All
counties will have polling places
open during early voting (Oct.
17-30) and on Election Day
(Nov. 3) for in-person voting.
Since all voters will receive a
ballot in the mail, it will be
easy for a voter to cast two
ballots, once by mail and
once in person.
The election management system (EMS)
used in Nevada only allows one ballot to be
assigned to a voter at a time. The EMS does
not allow a voter to cast multiple ballots. If
you vote in person, you will not be allowed
to cast a mail ballot. If you vote by mail,
you will not be allowed to vote in person.
These safeguards have been in place for a
long time and have proven effective.
MYTH #3 FACT #3
FACT #2
In order to vote in person, a voter must
physically surrender their mail ballot at the
polling place OR sign an affirmation
indicating the voter will not vote their mail
ballot. Although encouraged, voters are not
required to bring their mail ballot with them
to surrender before voting in person.
MYTH #2
You must physically surrender your
ballot before voting in person, so if
you did not receive a ballot in the
mail then you cannot vote in person.
Facts vs. Myths
2020 NEVADA GENERAL ELECTION
M Y T H S V S F A C T S
2
Election officials in Nevada do
not verify the voter’s signature
on the ballot return envelope
before the ballot is counted.
FACT #4
Signature verification is performed on every
ballot received. If the signature is missing or
if the signature on the ballot return envelope
does not match the signature on file for the
voter, the ballot will not be counted until the
voter verifies their signature.
MYTH #4
The U.S. Postal Service
(USPS) does not apply
postmarks to mail ballots.
Over 450,000 ballots were cast by mail for the
2020 primary election, and all of them were
postmarked by USPS even though the ballot
return envelopes are postage prepaid business
reply mail. Representatives from USPS have
assured election officials that all ballots will
continue to be postmarked prior to being
delivered for counting.
MYTH #5
The bill recently passed
by the Nevada Legislature
weakened Nevada’s
signature verification
procedures.
FACT #5
While the bill did include language detailing
how signature verification must be
performed, the bill simply put into law the
procedure that was already being followed for
signature verification. The bill did not “water
down” or weaken the signature verification
process.
MYTH #6 FACT6 #
Facts vs. Myths
2020 NEVADA GENERAL ELECTION
M Y T H S V S F A C T S
3
If a mail ballot is sent to a
deceased individual or a voter
who no longer resides at the
address on file for the voter, the
mail ballot can be fraudulently
voted.
A person can cast a mail
ballot after Election Day
and still have their ballot
counted.
FACT #8
All Nevada counties replaced all their
voting equipment prior to the 2018
election cycle. This means Nevada has
some of the newest voting equipment in
use nationwide.
MYTH #7 FACT #7
All mail ballots must be postmarked by
Election Day (Nov. 3) or dropped off at a
ballot drop-off location by 7:00 pm on
Election Day in order to be counted. The
counties have until seven days after the
election to receive ballots in the mail, but
only ballots postmarked on or before
Election Day will be counted.
MYTH #8
Nevada has old
voting equipment.
MYTH #9 FACT #9
All mail ballots must be returned in an
authorized ballot return envelope, which
must be signed by the voter. This signature
is compared to the signature on file at the
election office for the voter, and if the
signature does not match, the ballot is
rejected.
Facts vs. Myths
2020 NEVADA GENERAL ELECTION
M Y T H S V S F A C T S
4
Using mail ballots make it is easy
for a person to vote more than
once in the same election.
There are multiple safeguards in place no
matter which voting method is used.
Discarded mail ballots cannot just be picked
up and voted by anyone. All mail ballots
must be signed on the ballot return envelope.
This signature is used to authenticate the
voter and confirm that it was actually the
voter and not another person who returned
the mail ballot. Signature comparison is also
used for authentication purposes for inperson
voting, meaning the same
authentication standard exist for both voting
by mail and in-person voting.
There are fewer safeguards in
place for voting by mail
compared to voting in person.
MYTH #10 FACT #10
MYTH #11 FACT #11
Ballots are printed on specialized paper using
highly calibrated printers, and each ballot is
bar coded. If a voter were to make a
photocopy of their blank ballot and attempt
to vote more than once, the duplicate ballot
would be identified and not counted. If a
ballot return envelope contains more than
one ballot, all ballots in the return envelope
are rejected. If a voter is sent a replacement
ballot because their original ballot was
misplaced, the voter must use the
replacement ballot and their original ballot is
voided. Voided ballots are not counted even
if they are returned by the voter.
Facts vs. Myths
2020 NEVADA GENERAL ELECTION
5
MYTH #12
The counting of mail
ballots is done in secret
and cannot be observed
by the public.
The counting of mail ballots is overseen by a
bipartisan counting board in each county, and
members of the public can observe the
counting of all ballots. Individuals who wish
to observe the counting of ballots can contact
their county election official to find out when
and where ballot counting will take place.
FACT #12
MYTH #13
Mail ballots are counted
by hand.
FACT #13
All mail ballots are counted by running them
through a digital scanner. If the scanner
cannot read the ballot for whatever reason or
determine the voter’s intent for a specific
contest, the ballot is sent to an adjudication or
duplication team, both of which are overseen
by a bipartisan election board.
The equipment used to
count mail ballots cannot be
trusted.
MYTH #14
All voting equipment in use in Nevada,
including mail ballot scanners, must meet or
exceed the federal voting system standards
and be independently tested to determine the
equipment functions correctly. In Nevada,
the independent testing is performed by the
Nevada Gaming Control Board.
Additionally, all voting equipment used for
an election is subject to rigorous testing and
auditing, both before and after each election.
Access to voting equipment is tightly
controlled. Members of the public can
observe all voting equipment testing and
auditing that is performed at the county.
FACT #14
M Y T H S V S F A C T S
Facts vs. Myths
2020 NEVADA GENERAL ELECTION
6
FACT #15
FACT #16
All mail ballots are sent with a return
service requested endorsement. This
means that ballots that are undeliverable as
addressed are returned to the county
election official. They do not remain in the
possession of the U.S. Postal Service.
Mail ballots that are undeliverable as
addressed are not returned to the county
election official and instead sit unsecured
at the Post Office.
MYTH #16
Voters who choose to vote in person will
not be able to vote on a touchscreen
voting machine.
MYTH #17 FACT #17
All early voting and Election Day polling
places will have touchscreen voting
machines for use by voters who choose to
vote in person.
Facts vs. Myths
2020 NEVADA GENERAL ELECTION
M Y T H S V S F A C T S
MYTH #15
Election results that change after
Election Day is evidence of fraud.
Election results are unofficial until each
county certifies results, which can take up to
13 days after the election. There are many
reasons a ballot cast on or before Election
Day may not be counted until after Election
Day, including mail ballots that are
postmarked on or before Election Day but
not received by the county until after
Election Day. Ballots cast by voters who
register to vote at the polling place will also
not be counted until after Election Day.
