May 2018

In a poll released April 26, 2018 titled “The Public, the Political System and American Democracy” the Pew Research Center presents data that shows our political system remains broken and that while most agree on the ideals of American democracy, similar percentages do not believe they accurately describe the current political environment.

The poll covered 23 items asking respondents if each was 1) very important to the U.S. and 2) if it currently describes the country well. All 23 items were said to be very important while only eight were labeled as currently describing the county well. The poll can be read here and is worth the time to read.

Some highlights

40 percent believe democracy is not working well
61 percent say significant changes in the design and structure of our government are needed
58 percent view the quality of presidential candidates as bad; 33 percent for congressional candidates and 26 percent for local candidates
Clear majorities do not see :

views of the minority respected
government being transparent
political debate being respectful
the major political parties working together

75 percent do not think elected officials act in the public’s best interest 40 percent have a favorable opinion of the Democratic and Republican Party
60 percent believe there is at least one candidate in every election who shares their views, however, the poll does not say if that is the candidate they vote for
61 percent do not think their Congressperson would help them address a problem

76 percent believe government is run by special interests

53 percent of those 18 to 29 years of age believe their vote matters compared to 61 percent overall
68 percent think personally insulting a political opponent should be “off-limits” but the poll does not ask about acceptance of negative campaigning
44 percent say elected officials should compromise with the opposing side

Regardless of one’s political views, I believe these numbers are troubling.

For the first time in six months, voter share for the Republican Party in Nevada declined. According to the data released by the secretary of state’s office the loss was across the board; state-wide, Clark County, Washoe County, the rural counties, and among voters between the ages of 18 to 34 and 55 and over. Conversely, voter share of Non-Partisan increased in those same demographics. Non-Partisan also gained voter share in all 21 state senate districts and 38 of the 42 state assembly districts.

State-Wide

Party	Change in # Voters	% Change	% Voter Share	Difference in Voter Share %
D	5,330	0.98	38.38	0.03
R	2.785	0.58	34.06	-0.11
NP	3,796	1.27	21.16	0.08
IAP	832	0.92	4.45	0.00
Lib	202	1.45	0.99	0.01
Other	64	0.46	0.97	0.00
Total not D or R			27.57	0.09