Early voting opens Saturday morning

Early voting opens Saturday morning at the Carson City Courthouse.

Doors open at 10 a.m. with voting machines on the ground floor outside the clerk’s office with the most attention in Nevada statewide focused on the race to replace retiring Sen. Harry Reid.

That race features Republican Rep. Joe Heck and former Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto, a Democrat. According to the polls, the two have pretty much been neck and neck throughout the campaign. But the most recent polls indicate a slight shift away from Heck observers blame on fading support for the erratic GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump

But Carson area residents will also be paying attention to the capital’s Assembly District 40 race and the Congressional District 2 race.

In AD40, longtime Carson City Treasurer, Republican Al Kramer, faces off with Democrat Michael Greedy, a retired Public Utilities Commission analyst in a district that has previously elected both Republicans and Democrats. Kramer, with huge name recognition, has a strong edge in the polls.

CD2 pits Reno’s Chip Evans, a Democrat, against Incumbent Republican Mark Amodei in a district that has never been won by a Democrat.

Locally, there are three contentious races for the Board of Supervisors.

Mayor Bob Crowell is being challenged by Chris Carver. Incumbents Brad Bonkowski and Jim Shirk are being challenged by Maurice White and John Barrette respectively.

The doors will remain open until 6 p.m. that first day. Early voting continues for a full two weeks, wrapping up November 4, the Friday before the General election.

In Carson City as in most of Nevada’s small counties, half or more of those who turn out do so during the early voting period.

Monday through Friday, early voting hours are 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. both weeks. The second Saturday, Oct. 29, the doors will be open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.