Voter Share Loses Haunt Democratic Party in 2017

2017 year-end voter registration numbers are in and the Democratic Party lost nearly a full percent in voter share in 2017.  Non-Partisan was the big winner gaining nearly one-half a percent in voter share with voters 18 to 34 years of age registering the highest variances. In December, voter share loses continue to plague the Democratic Party across all demographics and in all legislative districts. Once again the party lost voter share in all four Congressional districts, all state senate districts, and all but two state assembly district while the Republican Party showed mixed results for the month and overall increase in voter share for 2017.

The end of 2017 also showed another milestone; all demographics tracked below have at least 20 percent of registered voters not registered as either Democratic or Republican.

State-Wide

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % Voter Share Dec. 2016 Yearly Gain / Loss (Difference due to computer rounding)
D 811 0.14 38.71 -0.05 39.55 -0.84
R 1,210 0.25 33.50 -0.01 33.11 0.39
NP 1,674 0.54 21.30 0.06 20.88 0.43
Other 250 0.26 6.49 0.00 6.46 0.03
Total not D or R 27.79 0.06

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.
Change is # voters / voter share: IAP 0.30/0.00%; Lib 0.76/0.00%; other 5 parties -0.32/-0.01%

Clark County

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % Voter Share Dec. 2016 Yearly Gain / Loss (Difference due to computer rounding)
D 1,302 0.30 42.30 -0.08 43.23 -0.93
R 1,421 0.48 29.25 0.00 28.88 0.36
NP 1,874 0.83 22.30 0.08 21.79 0.51
Other 350 0.56 6.15 0.00 6.15 0.05
Total not D or R 28.45 0.08

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.
Change is # voters / voter share: IAP 0.30/0.01%  Lib 0.90/0.00%; other 5 parties -0.09/-0.01%

Washoe County

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % Voter Share Dec. 2016 Yearly Gain / Loss (Difference due to computer rounding)
D -90 -0.10 35.16 -0.05 35.83 -0.67
R 157 0.17 37.68 0.05 37.09 0.59
NP 29 0.06 20.02 0.00 19.84 0.17
Other 7 0.04 7.14 0.00 7.24 -0.10
Total not D or R 27.16 0.00

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.
Change is # voters / voter share: IAP 0.00/0.00%; Lib 1.09/0.01%; other 5 parties -0.79 / -0.01%

Rural Counties

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % Voter Share Dec. 2016 Yearly Gain / Loss (Difference due to computer rounding)
D -401 -0.91 23.65 -0.07 24.31 -0.66
R -368 -0.38 51.37 0.11 51.04 0.33
NP -229 -0.70 17.52 -0.02 17.23 0.28
Other -107 -0.77 7.46 -0.01 7.41 0.05
Total not D or R 24.98 -0.03

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.
Change is # voters / voter share: IAP -0.78/-0.01%; Lib -0.40/0.00%; other 5 parties -1.29/0.00%

18 – 34 Year Old

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % Voter Share Dec. 2016 Yearly Gain / Loss (Difference due to computer rounding)
D -45 -0.03 38.59 -0.04 39.63 -1.03
R 111 0.13 23.16 0.01 22.74 0.41
NP 311 0.27 30.23 0.06 29.58 0.64
Other -108 -0.35 8.02 -0.03 8.04 -0.02
Total not D or R 38.25 0.03

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.
Change is # voters / voter share: IAP -0.15/-0.01%; Lib 0.34/0.00%; other 5 parties -1.50/-0.03%

55+

Party Change in # Voters % Change % Voter Share Difference in Voter Share % Voter Share Dec. 2016 Yearly Gain / Loss (Difference due to computer rounding)
D 698 0.29 39.32 -0.05 40.07 -0.76
R 974 0.39 40.67 -0.01 40.49 0.17
NP 702 0.78 14.77 0.05 14.29 0.48
Other 178 0.56 5.25 0.01 5.16 0.08
Total not D or R 20.02 0.06

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.
Change is # voters / voter share: IAP 0.54/0.01%; Lib 1.13/0.00%; other 5 parties 0.24/0.00%

By district voter share changes.

Congressional Districts

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

CD 1, CD 2, and CD 4 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 21 0 0
Republican 8 10 3
Non-Partisan 3 17 1
Other 3 18 0

In 15 districts (71.43%) 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 number is unchanged from November.

State Assembly Districts

Party # Districts Lose Voter Share # Districts Gain Voter Share # Districts No Change
Democratic 40 1 1
Republican 19 20 3
Non-Partisan 11 30 1
Other 9 27 6

In 31 districts (73.81%) 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 decrease of one as AD 40 reverted back to being out of this range.

As voters continue to leave the two major political parties, our election system becomes in jeopardy of electing representatives at all levels of government that do not represent the constituency as a whole. This is not healthy for any segment of society. For this not to happen, the system needs to change to meet the needs of the changing political environment. The decision is ours. Nevadans for Election Reform provides the way.