Several Nevada Democrats were forced to choose between an hour's wages or voting in the caucuses

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published 20 February 2016

As Nevada Democrats flocked to their caucuses on Saturday, some potential caucus-goers were forced to watch from the sidelines — because they're stuck at work. "There was a bunch of people who wanted to vote, and they said they'd lose an hour's wages if they did," Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), a Clinton supporter, told The Washington Post. Whereas a combined precinct at the Wynn Las Vegas was packed with 376 voters in 2008 — mainly workers from that hotel and other hotels nearby — just 60 voters made it to the precinct on Saturday.

Navigating the hospitality and leisure industry's workers' unusual hours has long been a problem for the Nevada caucuses, FiveThirtyEight reports. An estimated 51 percent of workers from these industries were on the clock when caucusing began at 2 p.m. ET Saturday. Pushing back the start time wouldn't help matters much either, FiveThirtyEight reports. Even if the caucus start were to be pushed back to, say, 7 p.m. ET, 37 percent of workers would still be at their jobs.

Still, some workers did opt to clock out to weigh in on the presidential election, and others were able to use their lunch breaks to caucus. MSNBC reports that for a few minutes at the Bellagio on Saturday "the matching outfits of bachelorette parties and tourist groups that typically flood the Las Vegas strip were drowned out by the uniforms of bartenders, maids, and casino dealers."