By Doug Goodman -Founder & Executive Director Nevadans for Election Reform
The Nevada secretary of state has released voter registration numbers for March and the state Democratic Party has to be happy. At the same time the state Republican Party has to be hoping this is not the start of a new trend.
Normal changes in voter share are usually in the hundredths of one percent. Changes of a tenth of one percent are not common. However, in March, Democratic Party voter share gains averaged almost three-tenths of one percent while Republican loses averaged just under two-tenths of one percent.
Washoe County now has more Democratic voters than Republican for the first time in a decade and the party continues to pick up voter share in the rural counties and among older voters. Similar gains and loses were recorded in Congressional and state senate and assembly districts. Non-Partisan voter share is also showing a decline.
State-Wide
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 12,039 | 1.97% | 38.60% | 0.26% |
| R | 3,467 | 0.66% | 32.70% | -0.20% |
| NP | 4,444 | 1.23% | 22.60% | -0.01% |
| IAP | 452 | 0.64% | 4.37% | -0.03% |
| LIB | 6 | 0.04% | 0.98% | -0.01% |
| Other | -93 | -0.76% | 0.75% | -0.02% |
| Total not D or R | 28.70% | -0.07 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others
Clark County
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 9,500 | 2.05% | 42.22% | 0.22% |
| R | 2,713 | 0.86% | 28.56% | -0.19% |
| NP | 4,130 | 1.60% | 23.48% | 0.02% |
| IAP | 512 | 1.12% | 4.15% | -0.02% |
| LIB | 35 | 0.36% | 0.88% | -0.01% |
| Other | -18 | -0.22% | 0.72% | -0.01% |
| Total not D or R | 29.22% | -0.02 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others
Washoe County
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 1,624 | 1.58% | 35.94% | 0.33% |
| R | 274 | 0.27% | 35.69% | -0.14% |
| NP | 55 | 0.09% | 21.63% | -0.12% |
| IAP | 1 | 0.01% | 4.43% | -0.03% |
| LIB | -21 | -0.58% | 1.25% | -0.02% |
| Other | -54 | -1.72% | 1.06% | -0.03% |
| Total not D or R | 28.37% | -0.20 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others
Rural Counties
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 915 | 1.99% | 22.76% | 0.27% |
| R | 480 | 0.46% | 50.96% | -0.15% |
| NP | 259 | 0.66% | 19.15% | -0.02% |
| IAP | -61 | -0.53% | 5.51% | -0.07% |
| LIB | -8 | -0.35% | 1.12% | -0.01% |
| Other | -21 | -2.02% | 0.49% | -0.01% |
| Total not D or R | 26.27% | -0.11 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others
18 – 34 Year Old
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 4,891 | 2.91% | 39.86% | 0.41% |
| R | 672 | 0.73% | 21.39% | -0.24% |
| NP | 2,088 | 1.55% | 31.54% | -0.09% |
| IAP | 245 | 1.27% | 4.52% | -0.03% |
| LIB | -8 | -0.11% | 1.64% | -0.03% |
| Other | -32 | -0.69% | 1.06% | -0.03% |
| Total not D or R | 38.76% | -0.18 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and other
55+
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 3,794 | 1.47% | 38.52% | 0.19% |
| R | 1,979 | 0.71% | 41.01% | -0.11% |
| NP | 821 | 0.79% | 15.43% | -0.03% |
| IAP | 32 | 0.11% | 4.11% | -0.04% |
| LIB | -6 | -0.20% | 0.45% | -0.01% |
| Other | -47 | -1.44% | 0.47% | -0.01% |
| Total not D or R | 20.46% | -0.09 |
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 | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Republican | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-Partisan | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| IAP | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| LIB | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Other | 4 | 0 | 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 | 1 | 19 | 1 |
| Republican | 21 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-Partisan | 11 | 8 | 2 |
| IAP | 17 | 3 | 1 |
| LIB | 18 | 0 | 3 |
| Other | 17 | 0 | 4 |
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 | 2 | 40 | 0 |
| Republican | 42 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-Partisan | 22 | 17 | 3 |
| IAP | 33 | 8 | 1 |
| LIB | 27 | 1 | 14 |
| Other | 32 | 0 | 10 |
In 35 districts (83.33%) 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 over February.
The secretary of state has announced the June 2020 primary election will be conducted by mail because of the COVID – 19 virus pandemic. Each county will maintain at least one in-person voting location during both early voting and on election day to accommodate same-day voter registration and handle any issues a voter may have with their mail ballot. The secretary of state’s office and various groups are active in encouraging voters to verify their registration especially their mailing address and signature. Since the primary includes no major state races; U.S. Senator or state office, it is normally a low turnout election. Whether the convenience of being able to vote by mail will increase registration leading up to the primary is unknown. We also don’t know the impact on voter registration the closure of all Department of Motor Vehicle offices because of the virus will have on Non-Partisan registration due to automatic voter registration nor how that will impact same-day voter registrations. April and the normal close of voter registration in mid-May for the election should provide some answers.
The Nevada Secretary of State’s office indicated it will be mailing ballots to all active registered voters for the June 2020 primary. That primary usually has around 20% turnout when the vast majority vote in person. It will likely be higher this year since voters will be getting ballots automatically mailed to them which also serves as a reminder that there is an election.
Exactly. Data shows mail ballots increase turnout. It will be interesting to see how that impacts voter registration including party changes once ballots are received and same-day.
I believe those registered as ‘Non-Partisan’ will get ballots with only non-partisan races on them since Nevada is a ‘closed primary’ state. They’ll have to make that change before they’re mailed to get the ballot for the party’s primary they want to vote in. If not, I believe they’d have to do that in person or perhaps call the county registrar.
Mark,
You are correct. If a voter wants to change registration to receive either the D or R ballot they will have to do that now. However, they can do that using same day registration at the in-person location each county will set up. One thing the Speaker did not realize was that with AB345 Nevada technically has open primaries with the implementation of same day registration.