Rants and Ramblings: random commentary about culture, media, politics, technology and whatnot.

nevada and south carolina primary results

This weekend’s main political events: the Nevada caucuses and the South Carolina Republican primary. As before, washingtonpost.com has county-by-county results maps.

(Update, 1/26: The South Carolina map now includes the Democratic results.)

Given my prior interest in the uncommitted vote, I feel compelled to note that, in Nevada’s Democratic caucus, “Uncommitted” took third place (9 percent of the vote) in sparsely populated Esmeralda County.

I don’t know if this applies to party caucuses, but, as a colleague pointed out, Nevada state law requires a “None of the Above” ballot option. From a voter FAQ on the Nevada Secretary of State Web site:

Does Nevada have a “None of These Candidates” or “None of the Above” option on the ballot?
Yes, NRS 293.269 requires that ballots for statewide offices, President, and Vice President permit a vote to express a choice of “None of These Candidates.” However, only votes cast for named candidates are counted in determining the nomination or election to these offices.

It mainly serves as a protest vote, so “None of the Above” can’t “win” an election, but sometimes it performs notably well.