Major Party Registration In Nevada Declines – Non-Partisan Registration Up 18% - UPDATE

The trend continues.  According to the Nevada Secretary of State, more than 50 percent of new voter registrations filed in July, 2014 designated non-partisan. 19 percent of total voters are now registered as non-partisan (Secretary of State shows active voters).

As I’ve mentioned in other posts on this blog, the move to the extreme by the two major political parties is causing them to lose membership. I’ve highlighted how the current political divide along strict ideological lines negatively impacts our daily lives. I’ve posted links showing how the use of open, non-partisan blanket primaries such as the top-three proposed in the Nevada Election Modernization and Reform Act (NEMRA) allow parties to return to addressing the concerns of the median voter and win elections.

Just how many voters have become so disillusioned and frustrated by the move to the fringe by the Democrat and Republican parties that they have voluntarily given up part of their right to vote? Since May, 2010; the close of registration for the primary election, the number of voters registered as Non-Partisan has grown by nearly three percent; an 18 percent difference. Those registered as Independent American, Libertarian, or other party has grown by just under one percent; a 12 percent difference. At the same time, Democrat and Republican registration have both dropped just under two percent each; a four and five percent negative change respectively.  The trend continued following the primary election just completed six weeks ago.

         

Election	Non-Partisan	Other	Total	Democrat	Republican
Primary 2010	15.8%	5.7%	21.6%	43.2%	35.2%
General 2010	16.2%	6.1%	22.1%	42.7%	35.2%
Primary 2012	16.9%	6.0%	22.9%	42.1%	35.0%
General 2012	17.8%	6.2%	24.0%	42.3%	33.7%
Primary 2014	18.4%	6.4%	24.8%	41.5%	33.7%
June 2014	18.6%	6.4%	25.0%	41.4%	33.6%
July 2014	19.0%	6.5%	25.5%	41.0%	33.5%

         

The major political parties in Nevada can reverse this self-destruction.  They can act to increase voter participation at all levels of the election process and return to representing the views of the majority of their members and the electorate as a whole. They can regain some of this lost membership and possibly add new members, especially the younger voters. All it takes is enacting the Nevada Election Modernization and Reform Act during the 2015 Nevada legislative session.