Voting in Nevada’s Democratic presidential caucus starts Saturday

Voting in the Nevada Democratic Party’s presidential caucuses begins Saturday at dozens of locations throughout the state.

In all, more than 80 locations will host early caucusgoers during the four-day period, which ends Tuesday. Most of the Saturday early caucus spots open at 10 a.m.

Federal and state elected Democratic officials will speak at more than a dozen early caucus sites throughout the four-day period.

On Saturday, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Rep. Susie Lee will kick off the caucus at 10 a.m. at the Culinary Union Local 226’s union hall.

Former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid will be at the East Las Vegas Library at 11 a.m.

Gov. Steve Sisolak will appear at the Gay & Lesbian Community Center of Las Vegas at 11 a.m.

Rep. Steven Horsford will be at the Doolittle Community Center at 1 p.m.

Rep. Dina Titus will appear at the Chinatown Plaza Mall at 3:30 p.m.

The early caucuses, like the traditional caucuses planned for Feb. 22, are only open to registered Democrats. Voters may change their registration at any site.

Voters will be asked to sign in and fill out a scannable paper preference card, which they will use to select their top three to five candidates.

According to the party, those ballots will then be transferred to several hubs, scanned and stored. They will be counted based on the voters’ precinct locations during the Feb. 22 caucuses.

Early preferences do not count until caucus day.

Six Democratic candidates — former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, businessman Tom Steyer and former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg — have descended on Nevada for a weekend of events throughout the Las Vegas Valley.

Each of these candidates save for Steyer have also qualified for the next Democratic presidential debate, which will take place at Paris Las Vegas and broadcast on MSNBC on Wednesday.

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, of Hawaii, will be on the Nevada ballot but is not campaigning in the state.

Nevada’s caucuses will award 36 pledged delegates to the Democratic National Convention. So far, Buttigieg narrowly leads the field with 22 delegates to Sanders’ 21, Warren’s eight, Klobuchar’s seven and Biden’s six.

Nevada is the first ethnically diverse state on the nominating calendar. It also has a large union population.

The contest will swing to South Carolina next for a Feb. 29 primary election.

Contact Rory Appleton at RAppleton@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0276. Follow @RoryDoesPhonics on Twitter.