Nevada Secretary of State Francisco Aguilar made his way to UNR on Tuesday afternoon to speak to students about the importance of voting.
He shared how he feels the younger demographic has a valuable voice that needs to be heard during the election, and said having a voting center on campus makes it easy for students to get out of class and vote.
He encouraged students to take advantage of the last days of early voting.
Secretary Aguilar said, "We just spoke with a bunch of students over Pizza and Politics. Had some tough questions, some good questions, but more importantly, students engaging in the political process is always critical during this moment. Nevada has some of the slimmest margins in our election process, and students can really have an impact on the outcome of our election."
He said in 2024, Nevada had the 4th highest turnout among young voters.
In this election, more than 400,000 Nevadans have voted so far during early voting, and Secretary Aguilar wants every person able to vote to go out and cast their ballot.
"We are reminding Nevadans to drop your mail ballot off at the post office or in your mailbox today. If you're going to wait beyond today, go to a polling location and drop off that ballot so that we ensure it gets in the hands of Washoe County and that Washoe County has possession of that ballot to be able to process it and have your voice heard," said Secretary Aguilar.
Secretary Aguilar also shared that the courts in California told the Department of Homeland Security that their efforts to identify non-citizen voters needed to stop until the election is over, and he said polling locations in Nevada are a safe place to make your voice heard.
“Voters just want to ensure that when they show up to a polling location, that it's going to be a safe and secure environment, that they're not going to be harassed. They're not going to be intimidated from participating in the process. We're telling voters, make a plan to vote. If you want to use your mail ballot, mail it today. If you're going to hold on to it closer to Election Day, take it to a polling location, drop it off in a drop box,” said Secretary Aguilar.
