Reno Voters Face Two-Hour Waits at UNR Center
If you are in line by 7 p.m., you can still cast your ballot at the voting site.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Civic Engagement
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Students, faculty and other Reno voters waited in line for nearly two hours at the University of Nevada, Reno voting center on general election day. Doors at the Joe Crowley Student Union opened at 7 a.m., and a late surge arrived about 30 minutes before the 7 p.m. close.
Why it matters
For many people in Reno, the university voting center is where they cast their first ballot, so long lines there shape how easily new and young voters can take part. Anyone who was in line by 7 p.m. was still able to vote, but the wait times raise questions about how crowds are handled at busy sites on election day.
Poll workers described turnout at the University of Nevada, Reno center as among the larger ones for that site, with waits of nearly two hours at peak and more than one hour at the North Valley library. Total turnout and the number of voters still in line at 7 p.m. were not reported.
The players
University of Nevada, Reno
The university hosted the voting center in its Joe Crowley Student Union, which drew students, faculty and residents on election day.
Joe Crowley Student Union
The campus building housed the voting center where the longest lines formed.
The details
Voters queued in front of the Joe Crowley Student Union before doors opened at 7 a.m. on election day, and the wait reached one hour in the afternoon before climbing to nearly two hours. A surge of students, faculty and other citizens entered about 30 minutes before polls closed at 7 p.m., and anyone already in line by then could still cast a ballot. First-time voters at the university center also received a small plaque to mark the occasion.
Timeline
7 a.m. on election day: doors open at the Joe Crowley Student Union voting center
Afternoon on election day: the wait time reaches one hour
About 30 minutes before 7 p.m.: a surge of voters arrives
7 p.m. on election day: polls close, with those in line still eligible to vote
The Truckee Meadows View
The campus voting center in the Joe Crowley Student Union is where many students in the Truckee Meadows cast their first ballot, and this election's waits there and at the North Valley library are the main local reference for how crowded sites performed. Readers can compare these waits with earlier elections in Reno and Sparks as more turnout details become available.
If you vote at a busy campus or library site, plan to arrive early in the day, since waits reached nearly two hours on this election day. If you are in line when polls close at 7 p.m., you can still cast your ballot, so do not leave the line.
The takeaway
Long lines at campus and library voting centers can add close to two hours to election day, and polling sites stay open for anyone already in line at 7 p.m. Watch for turnout and wait-time figures from the Washoe County Registrar of Voters when they are released.
Further reading
For more on how residents take part in local elections, see Civic Engagement coverage from Reno.
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Did you vote in person this year, even if it meant waiting in line?
