Nevada Caucus Guide — How to Get Results (ContributorNetwork)

The Nevada Republican Party touts the state’s presidential caucus as the “First in the West.” With a population of just over 2.7 million, Nevada is relatively small compared to Florida’s population of over 18 million residents. Because there are still four candidates for the nomination in Nevada, the race has become more important in 2012 than in years past.

Here’s a guide to the Nevada caucus, including how to watch for live results as they become available the evening of Feb. 4.

Process

There are 17 counties in Nevada and around 125 caucus locations. Start times vary and are determined by the GOP in each county. Voters had a deadline of Jan. 20 to register for the caucus. Doors will open for a few hours before the actual caucus begins. Registered voters can find their caucus sites on the official website.

Usually people who show up to the caucus will be allowed to speak for a few minutes before ballots are cast. Voting is done by secret paper ballots and are tabulated at the precinct level at this point. In March, counties will select delegates to the state GOP convention which will be held in May. The 28 delegates at the state level will go to the Republican National Convention in Florida in August. The caucus today is to determine which candidate delegates will nominate for the county conventions held a month later.

Demographics to Watch

The largest and most complicated caucus will take place in Clark County , where Las Vegas is located. There are over 1.95 million people in Clark County, or around 72 percent of the state’s population. Washoe County, including Reno, is next with a population of over 421,000. Nearly 88 percent of Nevada’s population is split between these two counties, making them the places to watch when results start to come in.

Precincts in Clark County open their doors for check in at 8 a.m. and the meeting starts at 10 a.m. PST. Washoe County observes similar times. The earliest caucus is in Carson City, which opens the doors at 7 a.m. and begins the caucus at noon.

Results

The easiest way to get up-to-date results is through the Nevada GOP’s official website and the Twitter feed . A map will be posted to the website starting a 5 p.m. PST once results start coming in. Look for media outlets to possibly call a winner in Nevada at those times. Because the nomination contest in Nevada is a caucus and not an election, the state’s Republican Party handles the results as opposed to the Nevada Secretary of State.