Growth of Non-Partisan Voters Highlights 2017 – 2018 Comparison

By Doug Goodman -Founder & Executive Director Nevadans for Election Reform

December was a month for routine voter list maintenance, so while the month to month trend showed mostly downward movement, the real story is the change that occurred during the full year. Bottom line, 2018 belonged to Non-Partisans.

State-Wide

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % 2017 – 2018 % Voter Share Change
D -1,682 -0.28% 38.39% -0.02% -0.32
R -630 -0.12% 33.41% 0.04% -0.09
NP -1,067 -0.31% 21.95% -0.02% 0.64
IAP -261 0.02% 4.35% 0.01% -0.07
LIB -25 -0.16% 1.00% 0.00% 0.03
Other -249 -1.72% 0.90% -0.01% -0.20
Total not D or R     28.20% -0.02% 0.40

 Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others

Clark County

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % 2017 – 2018 % Voter Share Change
D -2,295 -0.49% 42.01% 0.03% -0.29
R -1,578 -0.48% 29.25% 0.02% 0.00
NP -1,925 -0.75% 22.85% -0.04% 0.54
IAP -515 -0.48% 4.09% 0.00% -0.05
LIB -74 -0.72% 0.92% 0.00% 0.04
Other -224 -2.24% 0.88% -0.02% -0.24
Total not D or R     28.74% -0.06% 0.28

Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others

Washoe County

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % 2017 – 2018 % Voter Share Change
D 401 0.42% 35.12% -0.02% -0.04
R 339 0.34% 36.89% -0.05% -0.80
NP 430 0.75% 21.10% 0.06% 1.08
IAP 107 0.91% 4.42% 0.02% -0.11
LIB 32 0.94% 1.26% 0.01% 0.01
Other -34 -1.02% 1.21% -0.02% -0.14
Total not D or R     27.99% 0.08% 0.83

Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others

Rural Counties

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % 2017 – 2018 % Voter Share Change
D 212 0.47% 22.80% -0.05% -0.85
R 609 0.59% 51.71% -0.06% 0.35
NP 428 1.19% 18.13% 0.09% 0.61
IAP 121 1.07% 5.68% 0.02% -0.13
LIB 17 0.76% 1.13% 0.00% 0.05
Other 9 0.83% 0.55% 0.00% -0.03
Total not D or R     25.49% 0.11% 0.51

Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others

18 – 34 Year Old

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % 2017 – 2018 % Voter Share Change
D -1,176 -0.70% 38.70% 0.02% 0.11
R -693 -0.70% 22.75% 0.01% -0.41
NP -1,059 -0.79% 30.96% -0.01% 0.73
IAP -311 -0.66% 4.51% 0.00% -0.03
LIB -22 -0.30% 1.72% 0.01% 0.03
Other -159 -2.64% 1.36% -0.03% -0.43
Total not D or R     38.55% -0.03% 0.30

Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others

55+

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % 2017 – 2018 % Voter Share -Change
D 50 0.02% 38.72% -0.05% -0.60
R 525 0.19% 41.28% 0.02% 0.61
NP 228 0.23% 14.93% 0.01% 0.16
IAP 91 0.40% 4.10% 0.01% -0.09
LIB 6 0.21% 0.44% 0.00% -0.01
Other -23 -0.66% 0.53% 0.00% -0.07
Total not D or R     20.00% 0.02% -0.01

Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others

By district voter share changes.

Congressional Districts

Party # Districts Lose Voter Share # Districts Gain Voter Share # Districts No Change
Democratic 1 2 1
Republican 1 2 1
Non-Partisan 3 1 0
IAP 0 2 2
LIB 1 0 3
Other 4 0 0

CD 1, CD 2, and CD 4 (75 percent of the districts) continue to show 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 6 13 2
Republican 11 8 2
Non-Partisan 12 7 2
IAP 3 11 7
LIB 5 6 10
Other 18 1 2

In 16 districts (76.19%) 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 13 26 3
Republican 22 18 2
Non-Partisan 23 16 3
IAP 12 23 7
LIB 13 12 17
Other 32 1 9

In 34 districts (81%) 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 a gain of one over November.

As we get ready to start the 2019 legislative session, will the voter registration trend have any impact of the tone of the session? Will voters continue to be dissolutioned by the two major parties? How will the veto-proof majority in one chamber and near veto-proof in the other impact the rhetoric? We’ll know in a couple of months.