by April Corbin Girnus, Nevada Current
Nonpartisans now outnumber both the Democratic and Republican parties in Nevada.
Data from the Nevada Secretary of State’s office released this week shows there are now 605,112 nonpartisans (31.86% of active registered voters), compared to 601,882 Democrats (31.69%) and 551,090 Republicans (29%).
Nevada is now roughly 900 voters short of 1.9 million.
Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar in a statement said that over the next few months Nevada may consistently remain above 1.9 million active registered voters. Aguilar called it a “huge landmark for civic engagement in our state.”
Much of the growth is attributed to automatic voter registration (AVR), which happens primarily through the Department of Motor Vehicles. AVR has brought in new voters, but also made it easier for Nevadans to update their voter registration, which keeps them from being deemed inactive and eventually being removed. AVR is likely also impacting the rise of registered nonpartisans because voters are listed as nonpartisan if they fail to specify a political party.
“No matter what party a voter chooses to register as, or if they choose no party at all, each voter has an equal voice in Nevada’s democratic process,” said Aguilar in his statement Thursday. “This growth shows that the future of Nevada’s democracy is bright.”
July saw the active registered voter roll increase by 13,430 voters, an increase of 0.71%.
Nonpartisans saw the highest increase — 1.54%. Democrats and Republicans grew by 0.25% and 0.35%, respectively. Nevada’s two minor parties with ballot access — the Independent American Party and the Libertarian Party — both increased 0.8%. All other minor parties combined saw a decrease in total registration.
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