LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — The Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles is seeking to move potential voters to the front of the line starting next week and is reminding new residents they can surrender their out-of-state ID.
From Monday, Oct. 21, through Saturday, Nov. 2, DMV customers seeking to acquire credentials to register to vote this year will be able to walk in without an appointment. Staff will be able to assist potential voters during the special extended timeframe of 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at all Nevada DMV locations. In addition, on Nov. 4-5, Nevada DMV locations will allow for walk-ins from 7:30 a.m. until 6 p.m. to assist customers seeking voting credentials.
“The important thing is allowing those folks to get those credentials,” Hailey Foster, a Nevada DMV spokesperson, said. “Our goal is to honestly just not turn anybody away that needs to get what they need to.”
The return of “no-appointment-hours” follows a successful run when the extended hours allowed for a significant number of customers to receive their credentials in the previous election cycle, according to DMV Director Tonya Laney.
“Our goal is to help every legal voter who wishes to participate in the election,” Laney wrote in a press release statement. “We extended our hours last election cycle, and it seemed to work out extremely well.”
Although interim documents are allowed for registering to vote, the Nevada DMV can supply several options for voter credentials to register to vote such as a Nevada driver’s license or ID card. Nevada also offers same-day registration which allows all legal voters with voter credentials to register in person, ending on Nov. 2, 2024.
The push for extended hours follows the steady increase of new residents in Nevada. The Nevada DMV noting new residents have surrendered approximately 90,000 IDs in 2023, and approximately 70,000 for 2024 so far—in return for a transfer of a Nevada ID.
“It’s pretty on par as compared to last year,” Foster said.
Haley noted the start of the process to be registered to vote is also convenient for Nevada DMV customers with meetings already scheduled. The Automatic voter registration process allows customers who are using driver’s license services can check a box and be automatically registered to vote—but added the DMV is not in charge of registration.
“We don’t register anyone to vote,” Foster said. “We just kind of help get that process started.”
The Nevada DMV does not register voters or maintain voter registration rolls, it submits voter registration data to the Secretary of State and County Clerks, according to staff.
