Nevada lawmakers pass bill that would make it first presidential primary state

The Nevada state Senate passed a bill on Monday that calls for making the state the first to hold a presidential primary in the 2024 election.

The Nevada Senate passed the bill in a 15-6 vote, after the state House cleared the legislation five days earlier, 30 to 11. It now heads to Gov. Steve Sisolak’s (D) desk.

If signed into law, it would switch Nevada’s contest from a caucus to a primary and move the state up in the nation’s election calendar, passing the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary for the first slot.

Proponents of the bill are arguing that Nevada would be a better state to cast ballots first because of its diversity and population that reflects the demographics of the nation, instead of Iowa and New Hampshire, which are overwhelmingly white.

The bill, however, will have to garner the support of national political parties to officially shake up the 2024 voting calendar, The Associated Press reported.

The legislature’s consideration of the bill comes as a behind-the-scenes lobbying campaign, spearheaded by former U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), jockeys support for moving the state’s contest up in the calendar.

Reid and other Nevada Democrats have said that Nevada’s vote should switch from party-run caucuses to state-run primary elections, since the latter is easier to participate in, as opposed to in-person neighborhood caucus meetings, according to the AP.

Additionally, the group also highlights Nevada’s demographics and diversity as a reason why it should be the first state to cast votes.

The push to oust Iowa from its longtime spot as the first-in-the-nation contest comes after the state’s less-than-perfect caucus in 2020, which many described as a disaster.

The state’s election results were delayed for three days due to issues with a new app that the Iowa Democratic Party planned to use to report vote tallies.

The Hill has reached out to Sisolak for comment.