By Doug Goodman -Founder & Executive Director Nevadans for Election Reform
The 80th regular session of the Nevada legislature ends today, June 3rd and looking at the voter registration numbers for May just released, voters may have been paying attention to the political maneuvering.
Statewide, in Clark County, in Washoe County, in the rurals, among younger and older voters, not only did the major parties lose voter share, they lagged behind Non-Partisan and the minor parties in rate of growth. The major parties also continued to lose voter share across Congressional state senate, and state assembly districts while Non-Partisan and the minor parties increased.
While this trend in nothing new, have to wonder if voters have been watching whether the new Democratic majority would work with the Republican minority or try to force their legislative priorities through.
State-Wide
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 5,542 | 0.94% | 38.08% | -0.03% |
| R | 4,633 | 0.89% | 33.60% | -0.05% |
| NP | 4,619 | 1.36% | 22.06% | 0.07% |
| IAP | 896 | 1.32% | 4.40% | 0.01% |
| LIB | 242 | 1.56% | 1.01% | 0.01% |
| Other | 31 | 0.23% | 0.86% | -0.01% |
| Total not D or R | 28.32% | 0.08 |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others
Clark County
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 4,827 | 1.08% | 41.81% | -0.03% |
| R | 3,102 | 0.99% | 29.35% | -0.05% |
| NP | 3,581 | 1.47% | 22.96% | 0.07% |
| IAP | 676 | 1.54% | 4.13% | 0.02% |
| LIB | 174 | 1.80% | 0.91% | 0.01% |
| Other | 28 | 0.31% | 0.84% | -0.01% |
| Total not D or R | 28.85% | 0.09% |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others
Washoe County
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % | |
| D | 562 | 0.58% | 34.93% | -0.06% | |
| R | 737 | 0.73% | 36.88% | -0.01% | |
| NP | 633 | 1.09% | 21.27% | 0.07% | |
| IAP | 108 | 0.88% | 4.47% | 0.01% | |
| LIB | 42 | 1.20% | 1.28% | 0.01% | |
| Other | -2 | -0.06% | 1.17% | -0.01% | |
| Total not D or R | 28.18% | 0.08% |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and others
Rural Counties
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 153 | 0.33% | 22.56% | -0.09% |
| R | 794 | 0.76% | 51.72% | 0.01% |
| NP | 405 | 1.10% | 18.32% | 0.06% |
| IAP | 112 | 0.97% | 5.71% | 0.01% |
| LIB | 26 | 1.13% | 1.14% | 0.00% |
| Other | 5 | 0.45% | 0.55% | 0.00% |
| Total not D or R | 25.72% | 0.07 |
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 | 540 | 0.34% | 38.45% | -0.01% |
| R | 163 | 0.17% | 22.82% | -0.04% |
| NP | 751 | 0.58% | 31.14% | 0.07% |
| IAP | 79 | 0.41% | 4.56% | 0.00% |
| LIB | 19 | 0.26% | 1.74% | 0.00% |
| Other | -33 | -0.61% | 1.28% | -0.01% |
| Total not D or R | 38.72% | 0.06% |
Other includes Green Party, Natural Law Party, and other
55+
| Party | Change in # Voters | % Change | % Voter Share | Difference in Voter Share % |
| D | 2,220 | 0.89% | 38.40% | -0.02% |
| R | 2,291 | 0.85% | 41.46% | -0.03% |
| NP | 1,194 | 1.23% | 15.03% | 0.04% |
| IAP | 301 | 1.12% | 4.14% | 0.01% |
| LIB | 29 | 0.99% | 0.45% | 0.00% |
| Other | 34 | 1.01% | 0.52% | 0.00% |
| Total not D or R | 20.14% | 0.05% |
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 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| Republican | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| Non-Partisan | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| IAP | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| LIB | 0 | 4 | 0 |
| Other | 3 | 0 | 1 |
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 | 16 | 3 | 2 |
| Republican | 16 | 3 | 2 |
| Non-Partisan | 2 | 19 | 0 |
| IAP | 2 | 15 | 4 |
| LIB | 2 | 12 | 7 |
| Other | 12 | 1 | 8 |
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 | 30 | 10 | 2 |
| Republican | 31 | 8 | 3 |
| Non-Partisan | 4 | 38 | 0 |
| IAP | 6 | 30 | 6 |
| LIB | 7 | 20 | 15 |
| Other | 24 | 2 | 16 |
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.
Unless something unforeseen happens, state legislators will be heading home tomorrow June 4th. The next election will see same-day voter registration allowed and perhaps an increase in the use of absentee ballots. Automatic voter registration will have been implemented. How this will impact voter registration trends is something we will have to wait to find out.
Always appreciate your analysis.
Absentee voting is easily abused,as in California in Nov. 2016, especially in So. Cal.
Stan Paher
It will be interesting to watch. I know my son and daughter-in-law who live in S.F. and are busy professionals would most likely not vote if it were not for their permanent absentee ballot. That said, will the longer lead times impossed on organizations reduce the possibility of irregularities?
Vote by mail is still the best practice.