Myth:
Mail voting is not secure.
Fact:
Nevada uses multiple security measures to protect mail ballots, including signature verification, ballot tracking, and secure processing procedures.
Active registered voters in Nevada receive a mail ballot, but voters still have options to vote early in person or on Election Day.
Voting by mail has been used safely by millions of Americans for years.
Affordability seems to be the word of this election. But our neighbors need more than a campaign buzzword.
We heard these concerns during the 2024 election, and too many families are still waiting for relief.
Nevada’s conditions only intensify the pressure. A housing shortage, dependence on cars, fuel prices, and the cost of transporting goods all stretch household budgets. And as we have learned, economic growth does not automatically mean household security.
For neighbors on fixed incomes or without income, there is even less room to absorb rising prices. When the bills increase, something has to give: groceries, prescriptions, gas, or rent.
Long-term reform and immediate assistance belong in the same conversation. More affordable homes must be paired with what families need to remain housed, fed, healthy, and connected to work today. Our neighbors cannot put their lives on hold while waiting for relief.
A useful question for every candidate and legislator is: “What will your proposal change in a household’s monthly budget, who will benefit, and when will relief arrive?”
For LEAN, affordability is about whether our neighbors can meet their basic needs and build a future with dignity. That is a commitment we must carry beyond Election Day.
In recent years, we have been reminded that elections determine far more than who holds public office.
When we elect a Governor or Mayor, we are also choosing who will have the authority to appoint people to boards, commissions, agencies, and other public bodies where important policy decisions are made.
These appointed positions rarely receive the same public attention as elected offices. Yet appointees can influence everything from electricity rates and professional licensing to housing, education, land use, public health, environmental protections, and criminal justice.
The names of these appointees may never appear on our ballots, but the people who select them do.
Appointments by the Governor
Nevada’s Governor appoints citizens to nearly 250 boards and commissions. These generally fall into three categories:
Some of the most influential areas include:
Energy and Utilities
Appointments to bodies such as the Public Utilities Commission, Nevada Clean Energy Fund, and energy-related advisory groups can influence electricity and natural-gas rates, utility planning, renewable energy, consumer protections, and infrastructure.
Health and Human Services
The Governor makes appointments to bodies involving public health, behavioral health, patient protection, aging, developmental disabilities, autism, food security, and health-care licensing. These boards can influence access to care, professional standards, and how services are delivered.
Education and Workforce
Gubernatorial appointments help shape the State Board of Education, Commission on School Funding, State Public Charter School Authority, Commission on Professional Standards in Education, and workforce-development bodies. Their decisions can affect school funding, educator requirements, charter-school oversight, academic standards, and workforce programs.
Housing and Homelessness
Appointments to housing, community-development, and homelessness councils can influence state housing strategies, funding priorities, supportive services, and coordination among state and local agencies.
Criminal Justice and Public Safety
The Governor appoints members to bodies such as the Board of Parole Commissioners, Nevada Sentencing Commission, Peace Officers’ Standards and Training Commission, juvenile-justice bodies, and indigent-defense boards. These appointments can affect parole, sentencing policy, law-enforcement standards, juvenile justice, and access to legal representation.
The Governor also selects judges to fill midterm vacancies on the District Court, Court of Appeals, and Nevada Supreme Court from candidates submitted by the Commission on Judicial Selection.
Water, Wildlife, and Creation Care
Appointments to the Environmental Commission, Wildlife Commission, Sagebrush Ecosystem Council, Board for Financing Water Projects, Colorado River Commission, and other conservation bodies can influence water policy, wildlife management, environmental regulation, public lands, and climate resilience.
Gaming, Cannabis, and Business Regulation
The Governor appoints members to the Gaming Commission, Gaming Control Board, Cannabis Compliance Board, Tax Commission, Transportation Authority, and numerous professional licensing boards. These bodies regulate major industries, issue licenses, adopt rules, investigate complaints, and enforce standards.
Civil Rights, Ethics, and Community Representation
Appointments to bodies such as the Equal Rights Commission, Commission on Ethics, Nevada Indian Commission, Commission for Women, and regional behavioral-health boards help determine whose experiences and concerns are represented in state government.
An appointment does not mean the Governor controls every decision made by a board. Once appointed, members have legal and ethical responsibilities to carry out the duties of that public body. But the Governor’s choices determine who is present when those decisions are made.
Appointments by Mayors and City Councils
Mayoral appointment authority varies significantly among Nevada cities. Depending on the city charter, a Mayor may make appointments directly, nominate someone for confirmation by the City Council, share appointments with individual council members, or have little independent appointment authority.
Local appointed bodies may include:
Planning Commissions and Boards of Adjustment
These bodies consider zoning, housing developments, subdivisions, special-use permits, master plans, and land-use appeals. Their decisions can determine where housing is built, how communities grow, and whether development serves the needs of current residents.
Civil Service Commissions
Civil Service Commissions establish or oversee hiring, promotion, discipline, and appeal systems for many city employees. In Reno, for example, members are appointed by the Mayor and approved by the City Council.
Housing and Redevelopment Bodies
Housing, redevelopment, and community-development boards can influence affordable housing, neighborhood investment, redevelopment districts, tax-increment financing, and the use of public land.
Parks, Recreation, Arts, and Historic-Preservation Boards
These boards help establish priorities for parks, trails, recreation programs, public art, cultural resources, and historic preservation.
Charter Committees
Charter committees review the structure and powers of city government and recommend changes to the Nevada Legislature. Their work can influence elections, representation, appointment authority, and how local government operates.
Regional Boards
Mayors and councils may appoint or designate representatives to regional transportation, planning, water, flood-control, homelessness, and other regional bodies. These appointments matter because many local challenges cross city and county boundaries.
Vacancies and Executive Leadership
Some city charters allow the Mayor to nominate a city manager or appoint someone to fill a vacant elected office, subject to City Council confirmation. In other cities, those decisions belong to the full council. Most department heads are appointed by the city manager—not directly by the Mayor.
Carson City is again different. Its Mayor is one of five members of the Board of Supervisors, and many appointments are made by the Board as a whole. The Mayor also has certain individual appointments specifically established by the Carson City Charter.
Why Appointments Matter
Public policy does not end when a law is passed. Appointed officials help write regulations, distribute funding, issue licenses, hear appeals, oversee agencies, and determine how laws are implemented.
That means voters should ask elected candidates:
The names of appointed officials may never appear on our ballots, but the people we elect determine who receives a seat at many of Nevada’s most important decision-making tables.
The Governor is Nevada’s chief executive. Elected statewide to a four-year term, the Governor leads the executive branch, works with state agencies, proposes the state’s two-year budget, signs or vetoes bills passed by the Legislature, and can call the Legislature into special session when urgent action is needed.
The Governor cannot directly control inflation, gas prices, mortgage rates, or national economic policy. But the office has significant influence over the choices Nevada makes in response to the challenges families face.
The Governor’s budget proposal helps set priorities for public education, health care, housing, food assistance, behavioral health, public safety, transportation, and environmental protection. The Governor also appoints people to lead state agencies and serve on boards and commissions that shape decisions about utilities, licensing, land use, health, and more.
The Governor’s power to sign or veto legislation is especially important. A governor can advance—or stop—policies affecting prescription-drug affordability, paid leave, consumer protections, school meals, housing stability, wages, and access to care.
As voters consider candidates for Governor, LEAN encourages Nevadans to look beyond broad promises about “the economy” and ask:
A strong Nevada is one where every person and community has what they need to live with dignity and thrive.
Seek Justice. Show Love. Vote the whole ballot.
A candidate forum can help people of faith become informed voters, introduce candidates to the concerns of their communities, and build relationships with future public officials. It also requires careful planning and a firm commitment to nonpartisanship.
Churches and other 501(c)(3) organizations may conduct nonpartisan voter education, including candidate forums. They may not endorse or oppose candidates for public office. LEAN encourages faithful civic participation that is rooted in our baptismal call to seek the common good while treating every candidate and political party fairly.
IRS guidance for churches
ELCA civic engagement resources
A forum can be a meaningful ministry when a congregation or coalition can:
A forum may not be advisable if only one candidate is likely to participate, if the event is intended to promote or challenge a particular candidate, or if there is not enough time to organize it fairly.
In those cases, consider partnering with the League of Women Voters, other congregations, neighborhood groups, or community organizations. A congregation may also host a nonpartisan issue-education program without candidates.
For a first forum, choose one contested race that directly serves the congregation’s community. This could include:
Local candidates are often easier to schedule, and the conversation can focus on decisions that directly affect neighbors. A larger statewide or congressional forum may work best when organized by a coalition of congregations and community partners.
Invite all qualified candidates for the same office:
Do not invite only the candidates viewed as most viable or most aligned with the sponsoring organization’s concerns.
For a congregation’s first forum, LEAN recommends covering several public concerns rather than centering the event on only one issue.
A broad forum helps voters understand how candidates approach the responsibilities of the office. It also helps protect the event’s nonpartisan character. Questions should be prepared independently and should give every candidate an equal opportunity to respond.
Faith may explain why a congregation cares about an issue, but questions should focus on a candidate’s public responsibilities—not their personal religious beliefs.
Select four to six themes that fit the office, then choose six to eight questions total.
Give every campaign the topics, format, rules, and time limits in advance. LEAN recommends sharing the principal questions with all participating candidates at the same time, about five to seven days before the forum.
Advance questions encourage thoughtful answers and can make busy candidates more willing to participate. The goal is voter education, not surprise.
Moderators may ask neutral follow-up questions. Audience questions should be submitted in writing and screened by a politically diverse committee for relevance, clarity, duplication, and impartiality. Do not give one campaign additional preparation, private coaching, or earlier access to information.
A 60- to 75-minute forum might include:
Rotate who answers first. Enforce identical time limits. Use a visible timekeeper. Ask the audience to withhold applause, and do not allow campaign fundraising during the event.
If campaigns may display literature, provide the same amount of space in a designated area for every candidate. If the event is recorded, notify candidates in advance and publish the full program rather than selected clips.
Adopt an “empty-chair” policy before invitations are sent and share it with every campaign.
If only one candidate agrees to participate, the safest practice is to cancel that race’s forum rather than give one campaign exclusive exposure. If a candidate withdraws at the last minute, follow the policy that was announced to every campaign consistently.
Candidate forums should generally be open to the public. A broad and diverse audience strengthens the event’s value to voters and candidates alike.
Invite nearby congregations, interfaith partners, neighborhood associations, schools, food pantries, nonprofits, and community ministries. Promote the event through partner email lists, community calendars, libraries, local news outlets, and appropriate social-media groups.
Ask participating campaigns to share the same neutral announcement. Promotional materials should name every invited candidate and include this disclaimer:
This is a nonpartisan voter-education event. The sponsoring organizations do not endorse or oppose candidates or political parties.
Nevada’s general election is Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Congregations planning a forum should confirm current registration, mail-ballot, and early-voting information through the Nevada Secretary of State.
Allow:
A candidate forum is not an endorsement meeting or an effort to determine which candidate is “the Christian choice.” It is a ministry of public conversation.
Congregations can create a space where candidates are treated fairly, neighbors are heard, difficult questions are asked respectfully, and voters receive useful information. At a time of deep division, honest and hospitable conversation can itself be an expression of Christian public witness.
If your congregation is not ready to host a forum this year, attend one hosted by another community organization, watch a candidate debate, read candidates’ public statements, and make a voting plan. Local races matter deeply because local decisions shape our schools, neighborhoods, housing, public safety, health, and shared life.
