By Sean Whaley, Nevada News Bureau: A new report from Nonprofit VOTE says Nevada’s voter turnout of 42.7 percent in the 2010 general election was up 5.6 percent compared to the 2006 turnout, putting Nevada in the top ten of the most improved states.
Nevada moved up from an overall ranking of 41st out of 51, including the District of Columbia, in 2006, to 29th in 2010. Nationwide, voter turnout stayed nearly the same, moving up just 0.3 percent from 2006 to 2010.
The report notes that Nevada had a “tight, high profile U.S. Senate race” in 2010. Secretary of State Ross Miller says the expansion of early voting also contributed to Nevada’s improved voter turnout.
“Early voting has become incredibly popular in Nevada and we should take advantage of every opportunity we can find to expand it even more,” Miller said after looking at the report. “I am also convinced that expanding the availability of online voter registration will result in more people turning out at the polls and I’m working hard to make that happen.”
Other findings from the report include:
· The rise in the Latino share of the electorate was most pronounced in the Western states. The percentage of the Nevada Latino vote rose from 12 percent in 2006 to 15 percent in 2010
· Voter turnout was 10 points higher in the nine states with Election Day voter registration.
· Maine had the highest voter turnout in 2010 at 56.2 percent and, of the 50 states, Texas had the lowest turnout at 32.9 percent.
