Most Nevada Voters are Ready to Move on From Caucuses

Half are Unclear What a Caucus is

PDF Toplines and Crosstabs can be found here

PHOENIX (July 26th, 2021)- When it comes to how parties select their nominees, Nevada voters are ready for a change. Half (52%) of the electorate believes Nevada should transition to a primary system and only 13% prefer caucuses, according to the most recent Nevada Public Opinion Pulse (NVPOP) survey conducted by OH Predictive Insights.

The NVPOP is a statewide survey of Nevada residents providing regular updates on the moods, perceptions, and opinions of Nevadans on hot topics facing the state. This NVPOP was conducted July 6th – July 11th, 2021 and surveyed 783 Nevada registered voters giving the survey a margin of error of +/- 3.5%.

Transitioning from a caucus-system to a primary garnered support from across the political spectrum. Majorities of both major political parties – Republicans (59%) and Democrats (53%) – preferred primaries.

"If there were ever a moment to make this change to Nevada's election system, it's now," says OHPI Data Analyst Jacob Joss. "Proponents of primary elections had better strike while the iron is hot and both parties agree on the matter."

Before being asked about their support for caucuses or primaries, voters were tested to determine if they knew what the terms meant. Only 55% of Nevada voters could correctly differentiate between a caucus – a system of local gatherings where voters decide which candidate to support – and a primary – a statewide voting process in which voters cast secret ballots for their preferred candidates. One in ten (12%) reversed the definitions, while 5% of voters believed caucuses and primaries were two words for the same thing. More than one-quarter (27%) of Nevada voters were not sure about the definitions for primary or caucus.

Knowledge of the difference between election methods did not translate meaningfully for support for a caucus. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of those who knew what a caucus was supported moving to primaries. Just 13% of these voters preferred to stay with the current system.

"There is no love lost for Nevada's caucuses," says OHPI Chief of Research Mike Noble, "It seems if voters had their way, the ever-shrinking number of caucus states would be getting even smaller."

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Methodology: This poll was conducted as an online opt-in panel survey. The survey was completed by OH Predictive Insights from July 6th to July 11th, 2021, from a Nevada Registered Voter sample. The sample demographics were weighted to accurately reflect the Nevada Registered Voter Population by gender, region, age, party affiliation, ethnicity, and education. The sample size was 783 registered voters, with a MoE of ± 3.5%. Numbers may not equal 100% due to rounding.

Media Contacts:

Haylye Plaster, OH Predictive Insights, [email protected], (602) 687-3034

Veronica Sutliff, OH Predictive Insights, [email protected], (480) 398-0998