RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Don’t be surprised to find new keypads for those who cast their ballot in-person for the 2024 General Election.
It’s part of a new statewide registration database called the Voter Registration and Election Management Solution, or VREMS.
The system locates the voter’s name and information, takes their signature and an affirmation they are who they say they are.
“The process makes the voter’s experience better,” says Cisco Aguilar, Nevada Secretary of State.
All 17 counties, the VREMS system is tied to the Nevada Secretary of State’s Office. And that information is acquired in real time.
Someone who tries to vote twice in different counties or tries to vote for a parent with the same name, or who has already voted will be identified quickly.
This is much different, Secretary Aguilar says, than what was happening here in Nevada with what he calls a bottom-to-top system.
“Before VREMS, each county had a different election management system,” says Aguilar. “And conducted their voter registration with 17 different processes. Some of the counties were running elections on legacy systems. Some that weren’t even supported by the vendors anymore.”
Those who want to change their party affiliation, update their information or register to vote on November 5, will be able to do so with these machines.
VREMS is already being used in Clark County where voters used the system during the presidential preference primary and the Nevada Primary. Aguilar says his staff interviewed election workers who say it was easy to use and more efficient.
With a statewide system, the Secretary of State’s Office can easily step in and respond to any problem at an election site throughout Nevada.
Asked if he was taking a chance rolling out this system statewide in what could be a record voter turnout. The secretary says there are actually fewer races in a general election. With teamwork and training the implementation of VREMS will be smoother.
VREMS takes care of registration and voter sign-in, tabulation of the vote will still be done on a county-by-county basis. A new registration database was approved by Nevada’s Legislature in 2021, the funding came in 2023 to the tune of $30 milion.
The secretary says they are on time and under budget.
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