By Doug Goodman -Founder & Executive Director Nevadans for Election Reform
The general election is behind us; however, the partisan rhetoric continues. Also continuing, voters are abandoning both the Democratic and Republican Parties. Voter registration numbers for November, which include same-day registrations, saw the two major parties once again lose voter share across all tracked data points; statewide, Clark County, Washoe, County, the rural counties as a whole and individually, among voters 18 to 34 years of age and those 55 and older, in all Congressional districts, all state senate districts, and all but one state assembly district.
While all parties gain voters, growth in both the Democratic and Republican Party is over-shadowed by that of Non-Partisan and “other”.
Given the closeness of voter share in almost all legislative districts, the importance for candidates to gain the votes of those voters becomes key to victory. A comparison of election results and registration showed non-major party voters played a deciding role in five of the seven contested state senate races, eight of the 31 contested state assembly races, and in six of 20 contested county commission races.
State-Wide
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 9,693 | 1.43% | 36.93% | -0.36% |
| R | 10,386 | 1.75% | 32.29% | -0.21% |
| NP | 17,448 | 4.05% | 24.02% | 0.38% |
| IAP | 2,133 | 2.59% | 4.52% | 0.01% |
| LIB | 507 | 2.84% | 0.98% | 0.00% |
| Other | 4,028 | 20.80% | 1.25% | 0.19% |
| Total not D or R | 30.78% | 0.58 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others.
The large increase is due to a change in how voters who do not
indicate a minor party are counted. Prior to August they were counted
as Non-Partisan.
Clark County
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 8,184 | 1.56% | 40.19% | -0.39% |
| R | 6,917 | 1.87% | 28.43% | -0.19% |
| NP | 13,063 | 4.13% | 24.85% | 0.38% |
| IAP | 1,552 | 2.76% | 4.36% | 0.01% |
| LIB | 339 | 2.97% | 0.89% | 0.00% |
| Other | 2,848 | 20.20% | 1.28% | 0.19% |
| Total not D or R | 31.38% | 0.58 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others.
The large increase is due to a change in how voters who do not
indicate a minor party are counted. Prior to August they were counted
as Non-Partisan
Washoe County
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 1,181 | 1.10% | 34.65% | -0.42% |
| R | 1,547 | 1.43% | 35.02% | -0.31% |
| NP | 2,978 | 4.31% | 23.04% | 0.44% |
| IAP | 303 | 2.17% | 4.55% | -0.01% |
| LIB | 108 | 2.78% | 1.27% | 0.01% |
| Other | 966 | 26.55% | 1.47% | 0.28% |
| Total not D or R | 30.33% | 0.72 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others.
The large increase is due to a change in how voters who do not
indicate a minor party are counted. Prior to August they were counted
as Non-Partisan
Rural Counties
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 328 | 0.69% | 21.14% | -0.25% |
| R | 1,922 | 1.68% | 50.93% | -0.10% |
| NP | 1,407 | 3.10% | 20.55% | 0.24% |
| IAP | 278 | 2.30% | 5.44% | 0.02% |
| LIB | 60 | 2.36% | 1.14% | 0.01% |
| Other | 214 | 13.16% | 0.81% | 0.08% |
| Total not D or R | 27.94% | 0.35 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others.
The large increase is due to a change in how voters who do not
indicate a minor party are counted. Prior to August they were counted
as Non-Partisan
18 – 34 Year Old
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 4,625 | 2.36% | 37.84% | -0.48% |
| R | 3,605 | 3.28% | 21.46% | -0.08% |
| NP | 7,772 | 4.71% | 32.63% | 0.33% |
| IAP | 848 | 3.49% | 4.75% | -0.01% |
| LIB | 290 | 3.47% | 1.63% | 0.00% |
| Other | 1,554 | 20.97% | 1.69% | 0.24% |
| Total not D or R | 40.70% | 0.56 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others.
The large increase is due to a change in how voters who do not
indicate a minor party are counted. Prior to August they were counted
as Non-Partisan
55+
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 2,056 | 0.74% | 37.49% | -0.24% |
| R | 2,695 | 0.89% | 40.75% | -0.20% |
| NP | 3,880 | 3.27% | 16.33% | 0.30% |
| IAP | 523 | 1.69% | 4.20% | 0.01% |
| LIB | 59 | 1.87% | 0.43% | 0.00% |
| Other | 1,046 | 21.42% | 0.79% | 0.13% |
| Total not D or R | 21.75% | 0.44 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others.
The large increase is due to a change in how voters who do not
indicate a minor party are counted. Prior to August they were counted
as Non-Partisan
By district voter share changes.
Congressional Districts
| Party | # Districts Lose Voter Share | # Districts Gain Voter Share | # Districts No Change |
| Democratic | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-Partisan | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| IAP | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| LIB | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Other | 0 | 4 | 0 |
In all Congressional districts (100 percent of the districts) the number of voters not affiliated with either major party is greater than or within 5% of the number of voters registered to one of the major parties.
State Senate Districts
| Party | # Districts Lose Voter Share | # Districts Gain Voter Share | # Districts No Change |
| Democratic | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-Partisan | 0 | 21 | 0 |
| IAP | 6 | 14 | 1 |
| LIB | 2 | 9 | 10 |
| Other | 1 | 20 | 0 |
In 20 districts (95.24%) the number of voters registered as Non-Partisan or the total number not affiliated with either major party is greater than or within 5% of the number of voters registered to one of the major parties.
State Assembly Districts
| Party | # Districts Lose Voter Share | # Districts Gain Voter Share | # Districts No Change |
| Democratic | 42 | 0 | 0 |
| Republican | 41 | 1 | 0 |
| Non-Partisan | 0 | 42 | 0 |
| IAP | 12 | 23 | 7 |
| LIB | 8 | 18 | 16 |
| Other | 0 | 42 | 0 |
In 40 districts (95.24%) the number of voters registered as Non-Partisan or the total number not affiliated with either major party is greater than or within 5% of the number of voters registered to one of the major parties. This is an increase of one district over October.
Those who read this report each month know this is not unusual but rather the norm. Statewide the percent of voters not registered in one of the major parties is less than two percent shy of total GOP share. In Clark County that number is greater than GOP share. In the rural counties, in all but Carson City, either Non-Partisan or total not major party affiliated exceeds Democratic Party voter share. And among voters 18 to 34 years of age Non-Partisan share is greater than the percent of voters registered as Republican and the total not major party affiliated has the highest share.
What message is being perceived by the Democratic and Republican Party leadership given the multi-year trend? What, if anything, can the major parties do to reverse it? Or do they need to accept it and legislatively broaden the rules to ensure the voters in this continuously growing segment can have full participation?