In the final days before election day, GLAAD Media Institute alumni, partnering with Silver State Equality and the LGBTQIA+ Community Center of Southern Nevada, in addition to drag queens hot off RuPaul’s Drag Race, have been motivating LGBTQ voters throughout Nevada to get to the polls before or on election day.
Rio Antone, who uses she/his/they pronouns, is an award winning artist, activist, and educator in Las Vegas, met GLAAD and Silver State Equality, Nevada’s statewide LGBTQ+ civil rights advocacy nonprofit, in 2023. Antone came to a GLAAD Media Institute training held in September 2023, where she learned to tell her story with a focus on her audience. Later, in February 2024, Antone returned to a GLAAD Media Institute course hosted by the NFL prior to the Super Bowl. Antone learned about what is at stake for the LGBTQ community in Nevada, and started making her own content, advocating for people to register and make a plan to vote. Since then, the GLAAD Media Institute alum has been a formidable advocate for her community, reaching her audience wherever she can.
Recently, Antone partnered with The Progressive Leadership Alliance of Nevada (PLAN) – an organization advocating for a fair and just state that puts people and the planet first – to host a political game night. Around 40 participants came together to “educate and enlightenment” each other about Nevada’s ballot measures as well as discuss possible election outcomes over bingo and other games.
“I wanted to use the platform I’ve created to get as many people, especially queer people, involved in this election. I wanted to demystify all the myths and answer all the pertinent questions,” Antone told GLAAD.
Nevada has been a major battleground state for the presidential election, while holding some of the closest Senate races in the country. With this said, between the presidential race, senate races, voters will also decide on ballot measures imperative to the state of equity and inclusion in the Silver State.
Some ballot measures in Nevada will include:
- Question 2 which will ask voters to revise the Nevada Constitution to include inclusive and best practice language for people with disability, while repealing problematic language
- Question 4 will ask voters to repeal language from Nevada Constitution which would abolish the use of slavery and involuntary servitude as criminal punishments for a crime
- Question 6 will ask voters if they want to provide abortion as a constitutional right
- Question 7 will ask voters if they want to require voters to present photo identification when voting in person or to provide the last four digits of their driver’s license or Social Security number when voting by mail.
View all of Nevada’s ballot measures and their context here.
To broaden community reach, Antone called on organizations like the NAACP, Planned Parenthood, and The LGBTQ Center of Souther Nevada to help activate and motivate as many voters as possible.
“After such a great event, we wanted to follow up with a call to action for early voting by planning a #QueerTheVote day on November 1,” Antone shared about her upcoming activation.
The organizer said they are expecting 35 participants that will join in on “storm[ing] the polls” in an effort to get as many LGBTQ people to vote early ahead of the November 5 deadline.
View this post on Instagram
Unlike some states, Nevada has late voter registration deadlines. Registration deadlines by mail were October 8, in person during early voting registration deadlines are between October 19 – November 1, as well as on Election Day, November 5, at in-person voting location before the end of the business day.
“My overarching goal is to promote the power that lies in [the] community,” Antone said.
Silver State Equality is also pushing to get out the LGBTQ vote across Nevada ahead of election day on November 5 through motivational pro-voting advertisements. The ad has been shared across digital platforms, including on popular dating apps.
The ad starts off with valiant excitement for motivating the vote – quite similar to Antone’s.
“Some people are just stars,” exclaims the ad’s narrator. “You know the ones. When they walk into a room the spotlight just finds them.”
The video then rushes into a map of the country, spotlighting Nevada, reminding viewers that the stars are Nevada voters.
“This election day the whole country’s got their eyes on us,” the ad continues. “It’s time to step into the light, take center stage and show up like the stars we are. So, let’s do what we do best, Nevada, make a plan to vote on or before November 5.”
“With attacks on LGBTQ+ Nevadans increasing, it is imperative we elect representatives who will lead the charge for full, lived equality. This election, we are endorsing LGBTQ+ and pro-equality allies across the state, including in districts like Washoe County, where attempts have been made recently to ban books and openly discriminate against LGBTQ+ students,” said André C. Wade, State Director for Silver State Equality, in a September press release.
GLAAD Media Institute alumni haven’t been the only ones to get out the vote.
RuPaul Drag Race Alumni dragged themselves to Nevada this week to activate voters with an early voting party. The nonprofit that organized the campaign is named Drag Out The Vote, a GLAAD partner, who “educate and register voters at drag events online and offline, by organizing local and national voter activations.”
The Drag Race Alum, Plasma, among other drag artists helped organize Divas For Democracy. The event featured drag performances along with the opportunity to vote early (with shuttle services provided to early voting locations) and register to vote.
“So we are here not to encourage people to vote one way or the other, but to vote, period,” Plasma told KVVU – Fox 5 News. “We come from various backgrounds, various walks of life, but what matters is that there are so many people represented on the ballot this year in some form of another, whether that’s local office, a state office, or a federal office.”
The last day to vote is November 5. To make a plan to vote before the deadline, visit www.glaad.org/vote.