Mississippi, Arizona, and New York Consider Top-Two or Ranked Choice / Instant Runoff Voting

In January, 2015, three states, Mississippi, Arizona, and New York took steps to bring either the Top-Two primary or Ranked Choice / Instant Runoff  Voting (RCV / IRV) to their electoral process.

Following an editorial in the Jackson, Mississippi Clarion-Ledger in August, 2014 (reported on this blog), the state’s Secretary of State compiled a committee to study three election reforms and make recommendations.  The committee looked at primary election systems, early voting, and online voter registration. The committee’s report was released January 16, 2015.

In the area of primary election reform the committee looked at the four systems currently in use; Closed, Semi-Closed, Open, and Top-Two. The recommendation was for Mississippi to adopt a Top-Two primary.

In Arizona, a bill to require the state’s voting system to be upgraded to accommodate RCV has been introduced in the Arizona House of Representatives.

In New York, a bill introduced by Democratic State Senator Liz Krueger that would create a pilot program allowing ten local governments to use IRV in 2019 and 2020 has been referred to the Senate Elections Committee.

Mississippi, Arizona, and New York are adding their voices to the message that our electoral process is broken. The Nevada Election Modernization and Reform Act (NEMRA) as proposed, implementing a Top-Three primary and RCV would make Nevada the leader in addressing this problem. 

Non-Partisans Outnumber Republicans In Over 14% Of Assembly and Senate Districts

In addition to the interesting numbers hidden in the December 2014 voter registration totals, active voters registered as Non-Partisan outnumber active voters registered in the Republican Party in 14.3 percent of both assembly and senate districts. In no district do Non-Partisans outnumber those registered in the Democratic Party. In two assembly districts Republicans outnumber Non-Partisans by less than 100 voters.

District	% Democratic	% Republican	% Non-Partisan	% Other
SD 2	59	14	22	5
SD 4	62	14	19	5
SD 10	51	20	22	7
AD 6	67	9	19	5
AD 7 *	57	18.7	19.4	5
AD 11	59	13	23	5
AD 14	54	19	21	6
AD 16	49	20	24	7
AD 28	59	14	22	5

* Difference is 166 voters resulting in 19 percent each if rounded.

In AD 15 there are 4,822 Non-Partisans compared to 4,871 Republicans, a difference of 49 voters. In AD 24, the numbers are 6,235 Non-Partisans versus 6,331 Republicans, a difference of 96.

There are eight states where independent voter registration outnumbers registration for both major parties. Is Nevada poised to join this list? If the current trend continues, I believe there is no question. The Nevada Election Modernization and Reform Act (NEMRA) will ensure Nevada’s elected officials truly represent the voters of the state.  

Run-Up To February 2nd

In fourteen days, the 78^th regular session of the Nevada legislature will convene.  Between then and 5:00 PM on February 9, 2015, each assembly member can submit one Bill Draft Request (BDR). Each senator can submit two. In addition, standing committees in each chamber can submit a total of 50 BDR up until 5:00 PM on February 16,, 2015.  The Nevada Election Modernization and Reform Act (NEMRA) has a chance to be one of them.

As of January 16, 2015, 32 of the 949 BDR submitted deal with some subject relating to elections. Of those, only three have bills issued; SB 5 (BDR 90), AB 23 (BDR 446), and SB 19 (BDR 477).

Meetings continue. In the past two weeks I have met with committee leadership. Meetings with other key individuals are being coordinated.

In his State of the State address, Governor Sandoval laid out his plans, the steps he believes are necessary to continue Nevada’s journey into the future as a national leader in education, our economy, and a quality of life for its residents. One of the final paragraphs of this speech summed it up: “From the vantage point of this new foundation, from the watershed moment of our 150th birthday, we can cast our gaze to the horizon – to the world we want for the graduating class of 2023: an educated and healthy citizenry, a vibrant and sustainable economy, safe and livable communities, and an efficient and responsive state government.” The last seven words, “and an efficient and responsive state government.” show a role for NEMRA. 

December Voter Registration – Interesting Numbers Hidden In Minor Changes

The Nevada Secretary of State’s office released voter registration statistics for December, 2014 on January 5, 2015.  While the overall comparison to the end of November shows the state lost only 1,828 active registered voters (0.15%). A closer look reveals some interesting developments. (Percentages are the difference between November and December 2014)

Younger voters, those 18 – 24 years old left the voting rolls in droves, -30,238 (25.6%) Of these voters

            12,239 left the Democratic Party (28.5%)

            7,045 left the Republican Party (26.1%)

            8,447 were registered as Non-Partisan (22.1%)

            2,507 left the minor parties (25.7%)

Older voters, those 65 and over replaced the younger voters, +32,849 (11.0%) Of these voters

            13,565 joined the Democratic Party (11.1%)

            12,221 joined the Republican Party (9.8%)

            5,180 registered as Non-Partisan (14.0%)

            1,883 joined one of the minor parties (13.1%)

The Republican Party lost 420 more voters than the Democratic Party; 1176 to 756 (0.28% to 0.15%)

Non-Partisan and registration in minor parties increased; 84 (0.04%) and 20 (0.03%) respectively

In Clark County all parties gained registered voters with registration as Non-Partisan and in minor parties leading the way

            Democratic Party - 963 (0.26%)

            Republican Party – 474 (0.18%)

            Non-Partisan – 975 (0.58%)

            Minor Parties – 292 (0.58%)

In Washoe County all parties lost registered voters evenly

            Democratic Party – 1706 (2.1%)

            Republican Party – 1717 (2.0%)

            Non-Partisan – 970 (2.3%)

            Minor Parties – 334 (2.0%)

Why did the younger voters depart? Were they part of the majority that did not bother to vote in November? The more important question is how do we get them to return and vote? Is the Nevada Election Modernization and Reform Act (NEMRA) part of the answer?