County Commissioners

County commissioners adopt ordinances, approve county budgets, oversee county services, and make land-use decisions—especially in unincorporated communities. Their decisions can affect housing, public health, human services, roads, fire protection, parks, libraries, homelessness services, and long-term growth.

In Nevada, Carson City is structured differently because it is a consolidated city and county. Its mayor and four supervisors form the Board of Supervisors, which carries many of the responsibilities performed elsewhere by city councils and county commissions.

County Assessor

The County Assessor identifies and values taxable property. Those assessments help determine property-tax bills and can affect homeowners, renters, businesses, and funding for public services. The Assessor does not set tax rates or collect taxes, but fair and accurate assessments matter.

County Clerk and County Recorder

These may be separate or combined offices, depending on the county. County clerks issue marriage licenses, maintain public records, and may help administer elections or preserve the official actions of county government. Recorders maintain deeds, liens, property transfers, mining claims, and other documents that establish ownership and protect legal rights.

Sheriff

The Sheriff oversees major county law-enforcement responsibilities. Depending on the county, those may include patrols in unincorporated areas, operation of the county jail, court security, civil-process service, criminal investigations, search and rescue, and concealed-carry permits. The Sheriff’s leadership influences policing practices, detention conditions, accountability, and relationships between law enforcement and the community.

County Treasurer

The County Treasurer collects real-property taxes, safeguards and invests county funds, distributes revenue, and handles delinquent property-tax accounts. This office helps ensure that public money is managed responsibly and remains available for essential community services.

District Attorney

The District Attorney is the county’s public prosecutor and legal representative. The office prosecutes criminal cases, represents county government in civil matters, supports victims and witnesses, and may help enforce child-support obligations. Decisions about charging, diversion, prosecution priorities, and the use of public resources can have significant consequences for public safety, accountability, and justice.

Public Administrator

The Public Administrator manages certain estates when someone dies without an available or willing person to handle their affairs. Although this office is less involved in making public policy, it carries significant responsibility for protecting property, administering estates, and serving vulnerable families.

Faithful civic engagement means more than voting at the top of the ballot. It means learning about every office, researching the candidates, asking how they will use their authority, and voting the entire ballot.

Your ballot does more than choose elected officials in Washington and Carson City. It also helps decide who governs Nevada’s public colleges and universities.

The Nevada Board of Regents sets policy and approves budgets for the Nevada System of Higher Education: UNR, UNLV, Nevada State University, four community colleges, and the Desert Research Institute. That system serves more than 100,000 students and shapes whether higher education is accessible, affordable, and responsive to Nevada’s workforce and communities.

Regents are elected in nonpartisan races, yet their decisions have very real consequences: tuition and fees, campus safety, student services, faculty and staff working conditions, research, and the future of community colleges.

In 2026, voters in five regent districts will choose representatives. The Board currently has 13 members; legislation passed in 2023 will reduce it to nine members beginning January 2, 2029, following the 2028 elections.

These may be down-ballot races, but they are not small decisions. Nevada’s students, families, educators, and communities deserve Regents who see public higher education as a public good—not simply a line item.

Know your district. Learn about the candidates. Vote the whole ballot.

Mayor

A mayor’s authority varies by city charter. Mayors generally help set a city’s direction, lead council meetings, represent the community, make appointments, and respond during emergencies. In council-manager cities, the mayor and city council establish policy while a professional city manager oversees daily operations.

City Council Members

City councils adopt local ordinances, approve budgets, establish priorities, and make decisions about housing, zoning, development, public safety, streets, parks, utilities, homelessness, and other city services. Their votes help determine what gets built, what receives funding, and whose needs are prioritized.

District Court Judges and Family Court Judge

District Courts are trial courts of general jurisdiction, meaning they hear criminal, civil, family, and juvenile cases. The Family Court helps people with divorce, annulment, child custody, visitation rights, child support, spousal support, community property division, name changes, adoption, and abuse and neglect.

Municipal Judges

Municipal Courts handle cases involving civil infractions within specific city limits. These courts are funded by their respective cities and most of the funds collected by the municipal courts go into the municipalities general fund.

Justice of the Peace

Justices of the Peace hear misdemeanor and traffic cases, evictions, small claims, protective-order requests, and certain civil disputes. They also handle initial proceedings in felony and gross-misdemeanor cases, including arraignments and preliminary hearings. Their decisions can directly affect a person’s housing, freedom, finances, safety, and access to justice.

School Board Trustees

School board trustees govern Nevada’s local school districts. They establish district policies and priorities, approve budgets, hire and evaluate the superintendent, oversee student achievement, and make decisions about instructional materials, school safety, transportation, attendance zones, facilities, and employee agreements. Their decisions affect students, families, educators, and some of the largest public budgets in our

General Improvement District Trustees

Some Nevada communities elect trustees to General Improvement Districts. Depending on the district, these boards may oversee water, sewer, sanitation, recreation, parks, utilities, or fire protection. They can approve budgets, set rates and fees, issue debt, and make infrastructure decisions that directly affect residents.

Hospital District Trustees

In counties with public hospitals or hospital districts, trustees may be elected to oversee hospital operations, budgets, facilities, leadership, and access to health care. These positions are especially important in rural communities, where the local hospital may be the region’s primary health-care provider.

Conservation District Supervisors

Conservation district supervisors help guide local work involving soil health, water conservation, wildfire resilience, invasive species, agricultural lands, and natural-resource stewardship. Nevada conservation districts are governed by elected supervisors together with appointed members.

Constable

Constables are elected in some Nevada townships and help execute court orders and civil processes, including evictions, property seizures, and service of legal documents. Their duties vary by jurisdiction, but their work can directly affect housing stability and access to justice.

Faithful civic engagement means more than voting at the top of the ballot. It means learning about every office, researching the candidates, asking how they will use their authority, and voting the entire ballot.

City Attorney

In some Nevada cities, the City Attorney is elected. This office serves as the city’s chief legal counsel, advises the mayor, council, and city departments, represents the city in legal matters, and may prosecute violations of city ordinances. In Reno, for example, City Attorney is an elected office.

Town Board Members

In unincorporated Nevada communities, voters may elect town board members. These boards advise or work with county commissioners on local services, community facilities, land use, and neighborhood priorities. Their authority varies by county and town.

Irrigation District Directors

In agricultural communities, voters may elect directors for irrigation districts, including the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District. These boards oversee water delivery, infrastructure, assessments, and policies affecting farms, ranches, and local water users.

Water District or Local Improvement District Directors

Some communities elect boards for water, sewer, sanitation, or other infrastructure districts that are not labeled General Improvement Districts. These positions can affect water rates, service reliability, infrastructure investments, and long-term growth. Nevada law also provides for elected local improvement district directors.

Election season is here, and Nevadans are being flooded with campaign advertisements, political mailers, text messages, social media posts, and promises about the future of our communities.

But how do we know what to believe? How do we separate facts from political spin? And how do we make informed decisions when every candidate seems to have something to say about what is best for Nevada?

At Lutheran Engagement and Advocacy in Nevada (LEAN), we believe an informed community is a powerful community.

How to Do Election Research is designed to help Nevadans look beyond campaign slogans, ask better questions, and make informed decisions before casting their ballots.

How to Do Election Research Part I

How to Do Election Research, Part II

How to Do Election Research, Part III

How to Do Election Research, Part IV

Bring your faith and values into the conversation.

In Part 1, we learned how to recognize misleading information.

In Part 2, we explored how to research candidates and their records.

In Part 3, we looked at how to compare candidates using the same questions and standards.

Now we come to another important question:

What does our faith have to do with how we evaluate public policy?

For people of faith, our values don’t disappear when we enter the voting booth.

But faithful civic engagement is also bigger than asking:

“Which candidate is the Christian candidate?”

No political party or candidate perfectly represents our faith.

Instead, we can ask deeper questions.

Start With Your Faith Tradition

For Lutherans, we don’t have to begin from scratch.

The ELCA has spent decades studying, debating, praying, and adopting social teaching on many of the issues facing our communities.

These include:

• Economic life and poverty
• Health care
• Housing and homelessness
• Immigration
• Education
• Racism and racial justice
• Criminal justice
• Gender, sexuality, and human dignity
• Caring for creation
• Peace
• Civic engagement and democracy

These teachings don’t tell you who to vote for.

They give us a framework for asking faithful questions.

Ask: Who Is My Neighbor?

Jesus repeatedly calls us toward our neighbor.

So when evaluating a policy, don’t only ask:

“How will this affect me?”

Also ask:

Who will this affect?

• What will it mean for someone experiencing homelessness?
• For a family struggling to afford groceries?
• For a rural community without adequate health care?
• For immigrants and refugees?
• For children?
• For older adults?
• For people whose experiences are very different from our own?

Pay Attention to Those Most Affected

It is easy to debate public policy as an abstract idea.

But policies affect actual people.

Before deciding what you think about an issue, listen to people who will live with the consequences.

Ask:

• Whose voices are missing from this conversation?

Look Beyond Charity

Our congregations do incredible work feeding people, providing clothing, supporting shelters, helping refugees, responding to disasters, and caring for neighbors.

That work matters.

But faith also invites us to ask:

• Why is our neighbor hungry in the first place?
• Why can’t someone afford housing?
• Why does a community lack health care?
• Why are some voices excluded from decisions?

Service responds to immediate needs.

Advocacy asks what systems and policies are creating those needs.

We need both.

Remember: Faithful People Can Disagree

Two people can share the same faith and reach different conclusions about the best public policy.

Our goal isn’t to force everyone into the same political position.

Our goal is to engage one another with curiosity, humility, evidence, and a commitment to our neighbors.

As You Research Candidates, Ask:

• How does this policy affect my neighbor?
• Who benefits?
• Who carries the burden?
• Whose voice is missing?
• Does this policy protect human dignity?
• Does it promote the common good?
• How does it compare with the social teaching of my faith tradition?

Faithful civic engagement isn’t about telling people how to vote.

It is about helping one another ask better questions.

Study the issues. Listen to your neighbors. Learn what your faith teaches. Ask difficult questions. Then make your own informed decision.

Because our faith doesn’t give us permission to stop thinking.

It calls us to think more deeply about how our choices affect our neighbors.

An informed and engaged community is a powerful community.