Why isn’t Donald Trump on the Nevada primary ballot?

When Las Vegas resident Larry Toth received his presidential primary ballot in the mail last week, he was concerned that key presidential candidates’ names had been omitted.

“I thought it was a misprint,” he said. “I thought somebody screwed up.”

Nevadans have begun receiving ballots in the mail for the Feb. 6 presidential primary, and some Republicans are shocked to see candidates like former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis absent from the ballot.

But it’s not a mistake. The candidates are not participating in the primary; rather they are partaking in the Nevada Republican Party caucuses on Feb. 8.

A 2021 law that required the state to hold presidential primaries for both major parties as long as there’s more than one candidate — coupled with the Nevada GOP’s decision to stick with its traditional way of picking a presidential nominee — resulted in the dueling nominating processes happening two days apart, sparking much confusion among voters.

Through the presidential primary, Democratic voters will get to choose which candidate they wish to see as their party’s presidential nominee in 2024. Those options include President Joe Biden and Marianne Williamson, among others.

For Republicans, however, in order for their vote to go toward awarding candidates delegates who will then go to the Republican National Convention, they must participate in the party-run caucuses. But nothing prohibits them from participating in both processes.

Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar’s focus has been to educate voters about the state-run primary. He has relied on the Nevada Republican Party to educate its voters about its upcoming caucuses, “but there’s a constant line of communication with leadership within the party to make sure … voters are as educated as possible about the process,” he said during a recent press conference.

Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald said the party has sent out mailers and text alerts to registered Republicans in the state and conducted numerous trainings on the caucuses to help educate its voters about the presidential nominating process.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.