As Partisanship Raises Its Head in the Legislature Major Parties Continue to Lose Voter Share

As I write this, the legislature is locked in partisan debate over education savings accounts, minimum wage, and the overall budget. Given this, it should be no surprise that voter registration numbers for May, 2017 again show the Democratic and Republican Party losing voter share across all but one demographic; the GOP gained voter share in Washoe County, while Non-Partisan and minor parties increase. And while there was an increase in the number of registered voters, Non-Partisan and minor parties also gained voters at a higher rate than either of the major parties.

Of special note:

In Clark County the difference in percentage of voters not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican Party is less than one percent

           

In the rural counties, the percentage of voters not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican Party is greater than the percent of the Democratic Party

Among 18 to 34 year olds, the percentage of voters registered as Non-Partisan is almost ten percent higher than those registered as Republican and the total not affiliated with either the Democratic or Republican Party is within one and one-half percent of those registered as Democratic

State-Wide

Party	Change in # Voters	% Change	% Voter Share	Difference in Voter Share %
D	-197	-0.03	39.36	-0.04
R	-251	-0.05	33.13	-0.04
NP	835	0.27	20.98	0.05
Other	428	0.45	6.54	0.03
Total not D or R			27.52	0.08

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.

Change is # voters: IAP +0.20%; Lib +0.23%; other 5 parties +1.54%

Clark County

Party	Change in # Voters	% Change	% Voter Share	Difference in Voter Share %
D	1,122	0.25	43.05	-0.05
R	756	0.25	28.86	-0.03
NP	1,212	0.54	21.89	0.04
Other	658	1.04	6.20	0.04
Total not D or R			28.09	0.08

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.

Change is # voters: IAP +0.61%; Lib +0.79%; other 5 parties +2.69%

  

Washoe County

Party	Change in # Voters	% Change	% Voter Share	Difference in Voter Share %
D	-1,393	-1.49	35.58	-0.02
R	-1,328	-1.36	37.27	0.03
NP	-691	-1.32	19.92	0.02
Other	-335	-1.76	7.23	-0.02
Total not D or R			27.15	0.00

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.

Change is # voters: IAP -1.68%; Lib -1.68%; other 5 parties -2.08%

  

Rural Counties

Party	Change in # Voters	% Change	% Voter Share	Difference in Voter Share %
D	74	0.17	24.14	-0.07
R	321	0.34	51.01	-0.05
NP	314	0.98	17.40	0.09
Other	105	0.76	7.45	0.02
Total not D or R			24.85	0.11

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.

Change is # voters: IAP +0.72%; Lib +0.89%; other 5 parties +1.02%

18 – 34 Year Old

Party	Change in # Voters	% Change	% Voter Share	Difference in Voter Share %
D	-520	-0.33	39.49	-0.06
R	-381	-0.42	22.55	-0.05
NP	37	0.03	29.78	0.07
Other	106	0.33	8.17	0.04
Total not D or R			37.95	0.11

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.

Change is # voters: IAP 0.00%; Lib +0.06%; other 5 parties +1.32%

 55+

Party	Change in # Voters	% Change	% Voter Share	Difference in Voter Share %
D	267	0.11	39.83	-0.03
R	378	0.15	40.52	-0.01
NP	351	0.40	14.42	0.03
Other	129	0.41	5.22	0.01
Total not D or R			19.64	0.04

Other includes IAP, Lib, and 5 parties without ballot access.

Change is # voters: IAP +0.34%; Lib -0.30%; other 5 parties +1.41%

Major party loses also continue in congressional and legislative districts.

Congressional Districts

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

Both CD 1 and CD 4continue 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. Additionally, with a shift in May in CD2, the number of voters not affiliated with either major party is within 5% difference against the Democratic Party.

State Senate Districts

Party	# Districts Lose Voter Share	# Districts Gain Voter Share	# Districts No Change
Democratic	18	3	0
Republican	15	4	2
Non-Partisan	1	19	1
Other	2	18	1

Unchanged. In 14 districts (66.7%) 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.

 State Assembly Districts

Party	# Districts Lose Voter Share	# Districts Gain Voter Share	# Districts No Change
Democratic	36	5	1
Republican	29	11	2
Non-Partisan	5	32	5
Other	5	33	4

Unchanged. 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 unchanged from last month.

Voters are not seeing any change in the approach of the two major political parties. Their frustration continues to manifest itself in how they register to vote. Given the voter suppression by the Democratic majority this session, I don’t expect any self-initiated change.