We all remember the long wait time for results during the 2022 election.
Now the Nevada Secretary of State's office is rolling out a $30-million dollar project that was approved by the legislature to make Nevada's election system more efficient.
It's called "V-REMS" and it's an acronym for "Voter Registration and Election Management Solution" project.
Right now in Nevada, each of the seventeen counties is responsible for maintaining all of their individual voter registration information.
They then report that information to the Secretary of State's office for verification and checks.
VREMS will turn that process on it's head, so that the Secretary of State's office maintains all of that information.
"Seventeen different processes, seventeen different systems, you get seventeen different results. And, then the Secretary of State's office takes that data and aggregates it all, which is a bit different when you have all of those different processes. This will allow us to have one process, one system that's consistent and unified across the state. And, then we will supply that data to the seventeen different counties, so then they can mail and engage with the voters in their counties," said Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar.
Voter rolls are voter registration lists. They are the list of actively registered voters who can vote in an upcoming election within a particular jurisdiction.
VREM will automate that process making it more transparent and bolstering election integrity.
"Really what it will help do is make those cross county checks far more efficient and much quicker, right. So if a voter moves from Washoe to Carson City thats a much quicker update. It's easier to transfer over the information," said Washoe Country Registrar of the Voters Jamie Rodriguez.
Aguilar says that VREMS will integrate with technology from the U.S. Postal Service which will allow for the easier tracking of voter rolls, but also enhances the experience for voters.
"To ensure that ballots are getting to the intended recipient, but at the same time it brings transparency to the process because a voter will be able to track their ballot like they do a pizza. I think we've gotten used to using technology in everyday life, there's no reason we can't use technology to enhance transparency in the process," explained Aguilar.
For more information on VREMS, you can vist https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/elections/vrems-project
For an overview of the legislation that allocates the $30 million for VREMS and other budget appropriations for election reform, you can visit the Nevada Electronic Legislative Information System.
